Ventura says there will be a government meeting on immigration

The president of Chega said this Thursday that he will have “a meeting with members of the Government” next week to try to reach a consensus on matters of immigration and nationality law.

“I have also committed myself, next week, on the matter of immigration and nationality, to having a meeting with members of the Government, so that we can see if we can close this dossier and reach a consensus”, said André Ventura, speaking to journalists before a meeting with the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon, Rui Valério.

Asked to provide details of these contacts with the Executive, Ventura said that they are still “only informally scheduled”. “I think they will take place next week. And they are mainly working meetings to be able to reach consensus on this very important matter of nationality law and immigration restrictions ”, he said.

Asked about what changes Chega intends in relation to the Government's diplomas that entered Parliament on Wednesday, Ventura said he does not agree with some of the executive's limits so that those who commit certain serious crimes can be sentenced to the additional sanction of loss of nationality.

“Why is there the issue of 10 years, where if you commit a crime and have been a national for 10 years you don’t lose your nationality, but if you have been a national for nine years you do?” he exemplified.

On the other hand, he said he wanted more limits on family reunification than those foreseen in the Government's proposal, which he considered “wanted to be comprehensive”.

“We want to correct some of these things in the Government’s projects and see if there is openness. As far as I know so far, I cannot reveal much because I do not have the authorization to do so, but as far as I know, so far on the part of the Government, there is good will to make some changes. This is a sign that we have a path to follow here”, he said.

Ventura was asked if he noticed in the Prime Minister's interview, on Wednesday on RTP, signs of a greater willingness to negotiate with Chega.

“I think that the political conditions are now in place — if there is good will, which there wasn’t in March last year — I think that the Government has realized that the growth of Chega and the strengthening of the vote for Chega, to the point of breaking the bipartisanship, is a clear political signal. And this is a Prime Minister who has recognized this and who now looks at the situation differently,” said Ventura.

For the Chega leader, “we need to move from scenarios to actions”, that is, to concrete negotiations on the right on issues such as immigration, but also taxation.

In the interview with RTP, the Prime Minister stated that he will seek political consensus “if possible” with PS and Chega simultaneously, but admitted that the party led by André Ventura has positions of “greater regulation” on matters such as security or immigration.

Asked about the reason for his meeting with the patriarch of Lisbon and whether Chega's positions on immigration do not clash, in part, with those of the Catholic Church, Ventura said it was his first meeting with Rui Valério, taking advantage of the meeting with the candidate for Lisbon City Council, Bruno Mascarenhas.

“It will be a way for us to get to know each other from a political point of view and also to convey our commitment to values ​​that the church also has, namely the fight for life, the fight against euthanasia and ensuring that we will fight for palliative care and care for the elderly,” he said.

Ventura admitted that the Catholic Church, “at this moment, does not fully support” Chega’s positions on matters such as immigration or the fight against crime.

“I will also try to make the Cardinal Patriarch aware of the correctness of our positions on this matter. I think that there are all the conditions for each person, in their own way, to do good work for the community, and in this case the community is Portugal ,” he said.