"We never heard a word from any Chega deputy when they were in the PSD - because they were all from the PSD - against corruption, standing up against cronyism, standing up against favors, standing up against this type of favoritism. On the contrary, there was even one of them who benefited from the favors of this regime to get his doctorate abroad", accused Roberto Almada, at a lunch rally in Câmara de Lobos.

With about a hundred supporters and militants, the lunch was attended by the head of the Blocist list for the European elections of June 09, Catarina Martins, who, like the Madeiran candidate, criticized the 48 years of social democratic governance in the region, currently led by Miguel Albuquerque, and defended the fight against the growth of the extreme right, represented by Chega.

"If Albuquerque has no sense, work more than necessary, vote for Roberto, vote for Roberto. It is to vote, it is to vote, to change this", sang the BE entourage, in an adaptation of the song "O corpo é que paga", by António Variações.

Roberto Almada alluded to the campaign posters of Chega militants, who "have now discovered the fight against corruption", and stressed that the BE "has always fought corruption, has always denounced dangerous connections and has never remained silent in the face of abuse in Madeira and Porto Santo".

"Where were those who now cry out to the heavens against corruption when we denounced it, when we were even accused in court and taken to court for allegedly denouncing these situations, where were those? They were all in the PSD like rats, they were all hiding there", he accused.

The candidate condemned "the dangerous connections between the Regional Government and the large business groups in Madeira", rejecting having been surprised when Albuquerque was constituted an arguido on suspicion of corruption, which led to the fall of the Government and the calling of early elections: "We all knew that, sooner or later, this would blow up."

"Promiscuity in this region has always been abundant. Since the time of Alberto João Jardim, there has been great promiscuity between political power and economic power, there have been favors, rigged competitions, revolving doors and favors that are, from our point of view, unacceptable", he reinforced, referring to the previous president of the executive (1976-2015).

According to the Blocist, today it is possible for a deputy of the Madeiran parliament to approve a law that tomorrow will benefit him as a businessman, in a logic of "'offshore' politics".

In this context, the BE will propose an amendment to the Political-Administrative Statute to extend the incompatibilities and impediments of holders of political positions at national level to holders of political positions in the region.

"From today to eight days there is only one vote that really changes Madeira, it is a vote for the Bloco de Esquerda, it is the election of more deputies from the Bloco de Esquerda", stressed Roberto Almada.

Fourteen candidacies compete for the 47 seats in the regional parliament: ADN, BE, PS, Livre, IL, RIR, CDU (PCP/PEV), Chega, CDS-PP, MPT, PSD, PAN, PTP and JPP.

In 2023, the PSD/CDS coalition won without an absolute majority, with 23 deputies. The PS won 11, the JPP five, Chega four, while the CDU, IL, PAN (which signed an agreement of parliamentary incidence with the Social Democrats) and BE obtained one mandate each.

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