Portugal's PM faces backlash for World Cup trip to Dallas as country stays on wildfire alert
Prime Minister Luís Montenegro travelled to Dallas for Portugal's round of 16 match against Spain, missing the opening of his party's parliamentary days and drawing sharp criticism as mainland Portugal remains under a state of alert due to wildfires.
Prime Minister in Dallas as Portugal remains on alert
Luís Montenegro travelled to Dallas, Texas, to attend Portugal's round of 16 World Cup match against Spain at the AT&T Stadium. The trip, his third to a World Cup game during the tournament, comes as mainland Portugal is under a state of alert due to high temperatures and heightened wildfire risk, declared from Friday to Monday and expected to be extended. Montenegro missed the opening of the joint parliamentary days of the PSD and CDS-PP in Cascais, sending a message read by vice-president Teresa Morais.
Opposition slams priorities
Catarina Martins, MEP and former leader of the Left Bloc, questioned the prime minister's absence on social media.
She contrasted his trip with other governments' measures to curb prices, accusing Montenegro of ignoring the cost-of-living crisis. PS secretary-general José Luís Carneiro, speaking in Funchal, said he expected the prime minister to "have his feet in the country" and called it incomprehensible to be abroad during a state of alert. He recalled that in 2022, then-PM António Costa and President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa cancelled an official trip to Mozambique during a critical wildfire period.The prime minister goes to Dallas to watch the game. Good for him. But what about here? Didn't he leave anything undone?
Government and party defend the trip
PSD parliamentary leader Hugo Soares welcomed Montenegro's absence from the parliamentary days, calling him a "lucky charm" for the national team.
Soares dismissed criticism as "bad faith", stating that the prime minister is monitoring the situation and that the interior minister is handling the response. He noted that the heatwave preparations have been effective. In his message to the parliamentary days, Montenegro condemned the opposition's "immature" decisions, while Defence Minister Nuno Melo warned that only the "irresponsible" would wish for a political crisis.Fortunately, and I say fortunately, our national team... had the occasion to beat Croatia, move on to the round of 16 and what I hope is that the prime minister continues to be this kind of lucky charm.
Historical precedent and NATO summit
The trip is Montenegro's third to a World Cup match, following Portugal's games against Uzbekistan in Houston and Croatia in the round of 32. The SIC Notícias report notes that he is the prime minister with the most World Cup presences in the last 12 years. In 2014, Pedro Passos Coelho cancelled a planned trip to Brazil for Portugal's opener due to a constitutional court ruling on austerity measures and a political crisis. In 2018, after a scandal over Galp-funded trips, the government carefully managed ministerial attendance. Montenegro is scheduled to attend the NATO summit in Ankara on Tuesday and Wednesday, which will keep him abroad after the match.
Parliamentary days proceed without PM
The AD parliamentary days opened with a visit to the new circular line of the Lisbon Metro, followed by sessions at a hotel in Cascais. The opening was led by CDS-PP leader Nuno Melo. Panels on health and education featured Luz Saúde executive Isabel Vaz and former CDS-PP deputy Ana Rita Bessa. Journalist Miguel Sousa Tavares spoke on the state of the nation, and former European Commission President Durão Barroso delivered a speech on Europe and the world. The days serve as preparation for the state of the nation debate on 16 July.
- Visit to Lisbon Metro works
- Opening session of parliamentary days, Nuno Melo speaks
- Durão Barroso speech on Europe and the world
- Portugal vs Spain World Cup match kicks off in Dallas
