Government gave "political and cultural victory" to the far right

The general secretary of the Socialist Party, José Luís Carneiro, accuses the government of having given an "unimaginable political and cultural victory" to the far right with the approval of the new law on foreigners that introduced more barriers to family reunification for immigrants and increased restrictions on the entry of foreigners into Portugal with work visas.

In an opinion piece published in this Sunday's edition of Público, José Luís Carneiro lamented that, instead of focusing on the priority issues of housing, health and the economy, the Government preferred to "make the far-right's greatest priority its own", moving closer to Chega in modifying immigration legislation.

"And suddenly, everyone is talking about nothing but immigration, nationality, and insecurity, in a dangerous and meaningless mix," Carneiro wrote. "The government decided to forcefully move forward with a change in immigration law, hand in hand with Chega, with complete disregard for the role of the entities that could, and should, issue opinions on such a sensitive matter. And, worse, it is enshrining solutions that represent a serious civilizational setback, which impede family reunification and undermine the integration of immigrants, and which violate human rights and the Constitution."

Parliament approves foreigners' law, criticizing the government's haste

Carneiro also says that it is important “not to forget that Portugal is a country of emigrants” and that, therefore, “there is one thing we have never done nor should do: give immigrants who come to us fewer rights than those we have always demanded, and rightly so, for the Portuguese living abroad.”

For the Socialist leader, the government has already dropped the red lines that separated it from the far right. "The 'no means no'—so often repeated during the election campaign—has become history," he writes. "The first hallmark of this government was to give the far right an unimaginable political and cultural victory, which will have serious consequences for the country and for our relations with Portuguese-speaking countries. With this attitude—I regret to say—the Prime Minister has become jointly responsible for the unfriendly environment that immigrants are beginning to encounter everywhere and for the hate incidents that may occur."

Considering the government's course of action "a serious mistake, with very serious consequences," Carneiro affirms that the Socialist Party (PS) was available to help find "the best solutions" for the country. "This isn't off to a good start," the Socialist leader declares, accusing Luís Montenegro's government of implementing "isolated measures with purely electoral objectives" and lacking a "vision," a "direction," or a "strategy."

In the article, Carneiro recalls that the AD has been in power for "almost a year and a half" and further accuses Luís Montenegro and his government of failing across the board in the three major priorities they defined for the country—housing, health, and the economy. "There is now a clear disconnect between the government's priorities and the nation's priorities," Carneiro asserts. "The country cannot help but be surprised."