Ventura is missing Socrates

Taking into account the votes from emigrants, it is confirmed that Chega is the second largest force in the Portuguese political system, a circumstance that only surprises those who were more distracted, and the socialist elitism that proved incapable of perceiving the transparent intention of the electorate.

André's ambition is to attain the power that is personified in the position of Prime Minister, and he has almost all the conditions to achieve it. He is shrewd, has an enormous capacity for rhetoric and an unparalleled ability to diagnose and perceive the masses.

However, it highlights a gap that does not allow him, for now, to take the next step with confidence: the absence of a plan for the country that has credibility.

Chega's votes are divided into two spectrums: ideological votes that encompass a more conservative country, against immigration and in defense of the traditional family, which is manifested in opposition to same-sex marriage and in the fight against gender ideology and voluntary termination of pregnancy. And protest votes, cast by most of the classes that have been most forgotten by previous governments, such as the security forces and firefighters.

It is common sense to agree with Ventura regarding the lack of care for certain working classes in our society. However, the leader of the now largest opposition party loses his argument and ability to attract new voters when he claims that he will do everything he promises using money from corruption, as if this were a simple, exact science with proven results.

In order to attract a new segment of the electorate, André needs to be more like Sócrates. As far as rhetoric is concerned, he is practically on the same level, although the former Prime Minister used it with a different elegance. However, the latter had something that Ventura has not yet been able to present to us: a vision for the country.

Despite all the defects that may be attributed to the person in question, common sense requires us to recognize that while he served as head of government he positively transformed the country and, more importantly, he reached the Portuguese people.

In addition to his work – for which, as a Trás-os-Montes native, I have much to be thankful for – José Sócrates promoted several measures and programs that freed a society still tied to the shield and the previous century, introducing it to a new era full of modernization.

The aforementioned brought us, for example, a new reality in education, requiring that the minimum compulsory schooling level be the 12th year, with measures implemented in the same sector such as the e-school program and the renowned Magalhães. The first, with access to laptops and broadband at reduced prices for teachers and students, created the first interaction of many families with digital.

In terms of energy, it was through Socrates that the general population first heard about renewable energy, and it is also thanks to him that we are still above the European average in terms of the green transition.

In the spectrum of individual rights and progressivism, he promoted Law No. 9/2010, which would allow same-sex marriage, making Portugal the eighth country in the world to approve it.

Regarding the bureaucratic backlog, he actively worked to reduce it, having legislated the facilitating concept – widely used today (20 years later) – of instant service and implemented the network of citizen shops in order to make state administration more electronic and not only reduce waiting times, but also provide greater efficiency in the relationship between citizens and the state.

Looking back, it is clear that the former Prime Minister's vision for the country was ahead of its time, as demonstrated by the usefulness of the measures devised around two decades ago.

This is our Achilles heel of Good. The lack of vision for creating a sustainable and prosperous country. When we think of a hypothetical Ventura government, what stands out? A daily routine in which we go around deporting immigrants and persecuting everything that is different, without having anything profitable other than a subsidy that can be allocated to one class or another, if we can consider it beneficial.