The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, has been at the center of national controversy after making controversial statements about António Costa and Luís Montenegro, as well as possible reparations to former colonies, proposing the payment of reparations for the past. In this sense, Chega decided to proceed with a criminal action against Marcelo for "treason".

The head of state ended up reacting on Wednesday to André Ventura's intention, saying that giving an opinion is "the difference between democracy and dictatorship".

"I will not talk about it, beyond what I have already said, which is to say that we live in a democracy. And democracy has the difference in relation to dictatorship which is freedom of expression of thought, freedom of thought. Freedom of thought of all, to agree, to disagree, whether they hold political positions or not", said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, in response to journalists.

It is worth remembering that, before the 50th anniversary celebrations of April 25th, the President of the Republic suggested, at a dinner with foreign journalists, that Portugal should assume responsibility for crimes committed during the colonial era, proposing the payment of reparations for past mistakes.

This moment led Chega to file a criminal action against the President of the Republic, for treason against the country and the Constitution. "Never has a Portuguese head of state, in 900 years of history, decided to exercise self-accountability for his soldiers, his Armed Forces, his citizens", criticized Ventura, speaking of a "very deep betrayal of Portugal".

"Chega could not fail to point out the seriousness of words that touch the elderly, the soldiers, with our history, with our armed forces and veterans. It is in the name of all of them, of all of them, in the name of the country, of its history, that we decided to proceed with an unprecedented process in our parliamentary history of accusation against the President of the Republic", announced André Ventura, who considered that he "ceased to represent the national interest and began to represent the interest of other States".

The leader of Chega also accused Marcelo of having "coerced the Government", suggesting that the PS and PSD are against his initiative because they agree with this idea.

Chega "has the legitimacy to make the proposal" against Marcelo

The President of the Assembly of the Republic (AR), José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, also spoke about the subject on Wednesday and considered that the Chega "has the legitimacy to make the proposal" for the accusations against Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, since it "has the necessary number of deputies to do so". Despite saying that, in his position, he should not speak out, he admitted that, "as a deputy", he knows "well" how he is going to vote.

António Costa in Europe? Has "European protagonism"

As for the former Prime Minister and his political future, it is not the first time that Marcelo has pointed António Costa to the European Council. And he did it again.

The President of the Republic praised Costa's "European protagonism", something he said he witnessed, "anticipating ideals, anticipating problems, anticipating risks, anticipating solutions" within the framework of the European Union.

António Costa is a "passionate about Europe - not that he was less passionate about Portugal, but passionate about Europe", he considered, reiterating that he hopes that the former government official can "continue to live this issue intensely at the European level".