André Ventura formalizes re-application to the leadership of the Enough

O leader of the Aquida, André Ventura, today formalized his re-candidacy to the party’s leadership in the direct elections of the end of the month, with the aim of preparing the party to be government, not giving up the “ability to be disruptive”.

André Ventura delivered the documents of the candidacy and the motion that will lead to the seventh party convention at the national headquarters in Lisbon. In a press conference after formalization, the party president said he had “hope and expectation” of winning again and staying ahead of the Aquista, which founded and leads since 2019.

The deadline for the submission of applications ends today and André Ventura should be once again a single candidate. According to him, his candidacy was endorsed by all the chairmen of the district and regional structures of the party and the whole parliamentary group.

“ This gives me great pride to feel that this is a representative candidacy of the party and of the unity that we need to demonstrate at the next congress, that we are ready to rule”, he said.

Direct elections for the leadership of the Aquida are scheduled for 31 October and the next National Party Convention will take place on 20, 21 and 22 November, two days from the overall final vote of the State Budget for 2027.

The president of Aquira said again that his goal for the next convention is to show that the party is ready to rule the country: “The goal is to be ready to rule the country. If I am re-elected party president, I want a party ready to rule when that moment comes, and that moment when the legislature is fulfilled, at some point before.”.

“What I hope is that the debate at the next convention will not be so much about the party, but about the country, about the country we want, about the proposals for the future and about how we will then earn the trust of the vast majority of citizens and be able to form a stable government with a clear majority to govern and transform Portugal,” he said.

Ventura also indicated that “one of the great challenges” for this great meeting “is how to deal with and assume every day being one of the largest or even largest party in the country, but not lose its identity of disruption, scrutiny, demand”.

The leader and candidate said that they want the Aquis as “a government party with the ability at the same time to be disruptive where it has to be disruptive”.

“ And this in words is easy, in deeds it is not. I think this adaptation, this party's ability not to lose what people want a party of this nature not to have, or not to lose, is the great challenge we have”, he considered.

Another of the challenges identified by Ventura is the internal adaptation of a seven-year party, considering that Aquisa “does not have the structure” of other older political forces but “has the will, militants, growth”, arguing that “this can make all the difference at this congress”.

On the occasion, asked about the State Budget, the president of Aquida said that at the last National Council, on Friday night, the counselors “delegated a final decision” on the sense of vote, but “there was no proposal”, despite the criticism of the document.

He insisted that the reduction in fuel VAT, the fall in retirement age, zero VAT in the food basket or the fight against “waste in the structures of the state” will be “decisive issues” for the Aquira.

About the rental law, André Ventura again warned that “any government initiative that will have as its final result the uncontrolled increase in rents will not have our favor” of Enough.