Nuno Melo spoke to journalists at the entrance to the 31st CDS-PP Congress, which ends today in Viseu, and was asked about the criticism from the centrists' former president, Francisco Rodrigues dos Santos, who on Saturday night, in a commentary space on CNN Portugal, admitted to leaving the party that he led between 2020 and 2022, considering that it had become "a private club with closed doors to renewal".

Melo began by simply replying that "it is being a beautiful congress" and that in a few hours he will address the country, "with a great spirit of unity, with the party mobilized" and with the "certainty that the CDS has a great future".

Faced with the journalists' insistence on the criticism of lack of renewal, the president of the CDS-PP said that he would not react, and then added: "The great beauty of democracy lies in freedom of opinion and I respect all of them".

"Furthermore, I would just like to say that there may be some misunderstanding. Looking at the lists I see a lot of renewal and I see many women, I even see people with established credits in Portuguese society, in all sectors, and so there must be a misunderstanding," he replied.

Asked about the list that he is putting to the vote today for his National Political Commission, which is one of continuity, Melo replied that "it has several new names, women, and high-quality staff" and that "it has been expanded".

As for the fact that several associations representing the security forces and the Armed Forces will be present at the closing, the current Minister of Defense of the PSD/CDS-PP minority government stressed that these forces "are important throughout the country and at any time because they represent the sovereignty of the State and that is not a minor issue".

The 31st National Congress of the CDS-PP ends today, in Viseu, with the election of the new national bodies and the re-election of Nuno Melo as leader, after his motion of global strategy was unanimously approved on Saturday.

The leader of the CDS-PP, Nuno Melo, proposes to keep all seven current vice-presidents in his national political commission, including the Secretaries of State Telmo Correia and Álvaro Castello-Branco and also the parliamentary leader, Paulo Núncio.

According to the lists for the national bodies posted today, Nuno Melo will keep Álvaro Castello-Branco, Telmo Correia, Paulo Núncio, Ana Clara Birrento, Diogo Moura, João Varandas Fernandes and Maria Luísa Aldim as vice-presidents.

In a list of continuity, Pedro Morais Soares remains as secretary-general.

Read Also: From "ally" to "private club". What was said during the CDS Congress (Portuguese version)