"And there will be no [agreement] for a simple reason: because we understand that Miguel Albuquerque should not be a candidate and, when you have principles and values, you do not give in to any political circumstance", stated André Ventura, in declarations to journalists, at Porto do Caniçal, in the eastern part of Madeira, as part of an electoral campaign action for the regional elections on Sunday.

However, this does not mean that "Chega is a form of blockade", added the leader of Chega, arguing that the party "may not make any government agreement, but will evaluate on a case-by-case basis what is good for the people of Madeira and Porto Santo".

André Ventura said that, according to the polls he has, "there will be a majority dependent on the PSD and Chega", which in "normal scenarios" could mean "a solution of stability".

"The fact is that what is happening in the Autonomous Region of Madeira at this moment is not a normal scenario, it is a scenario in which a Government resigned due to serious corruption issues", he reinforced.

However, he added "this does not mean that if there is a good proposal for fishermen, for police officers, for taxi drivers, for journalists, for everyone", the party will not approve it.

Questioned several times about whether he will make a Government Programme of the PSD/Madeira viable, considering that before any proposal is discussed in the regional parliament it is necessary to approve this document, André Ventura said that this is not the time and that he will assess it according to the result of the elections.

For the leader of Chega, the outgoing president of the Regional Government, Miguel Albuquerque, and once again the head of the PSD list, has "no political credibility" and did not realize that "it was time to leave".

On the other hand, the social-democratic leader, Luís Montenegro, did not have the "courage" to tell him that his time "was up", he added.

"And now, we are here discussing whether there will be a majority, as if Chega were the one with this weight on its shoulders. The PSD is the one that chooses badly, goes to the polls, and now we are the ones with the burden of having the political stability of the region in our hands", he stated.

Upon arriving at Porto do Caniçal, in the municipality of Machico, André Ventura was approached and talked for a few minutes with fishermen who told him about the problems of the profession, demanding better working conditions and higher fishing quotas.

The legislative elections on Sunday in Madeira will be held with 14 candidacies competing for the 47 seats in the regional parliament, in a single electoral constituency: ADN, BE, PS, Livre, IL, RIR, CDU (PCP/PEV), Chega, CDS-PP, MPT, PSD, PAN, PTP and JPP.

The early elections take place eight months after the most recent regional legislative elections, after the President of the Republic dissolved the Madeiran parliament, following the political crisis triggered in January, when the leader of the Regional Government (PSD/CDS-PP), Miguel Albuquerque, was constituted as a defendant in a process in which suspicions of corruption are being investigated.

In September 2023, the PSD/CDS coalition won without an absolute majority and elected 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 each obtained one mandate.

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