The head of the Democratic Alliance (AD) list for the European elections, Sebastião Bugalho, admitted on Wednesday that saying yes to Luís Montenegro "was not an easy choice". However, he guaranteed that "it is not easy to say no when the Prime Minister of our country calls you and says he wants you to be our man in Europe". Even so, Bugalho rejected the idea that the European elections are a test of fire for the Government. "The Government certainly does not feel on my shoulders", he said.  Sebastião Bugalho guaranteed in an interview with SIC Notícias that he feels "prepared" to go to the polls and that if he did not, he "would not have said yes". "I feel that I am prepared for this responsibility", he admitted. "I am probably the candidate for this election who has been most scrutinised during his career, except perhaps for Marta Temido who was Minister of Health during a pandemic", guaranteed Bugalho, who also said that the Portuguese know him because they have been reading his opinion columns for nine years.  Regarding the criticism, Sebastião Bugalho guarantees that he respects the critics and that there is something common to all of them: "none of them say that we are going to lose".  "Rui Moreira was an excellent candidate" Asked if it would make sense for the Mayor of Porto to be the number two on the list, Bugalho guaranteed that "Rui Moreira was an excellent candidate and I would be delighted to have him" by his side. "I was not involved in the invitation project", assured the commentator. Sebastião Bugalho also revealed that he received the invitation from Luís Montenegro to head the AD candidacy on Monday and that the choice "is the responsibility of the party president". 

"I am comfortable with the decision", he assured, admitting that he has "the greatest respect and friendship for Rui Moreira".  "I will not accept a position" Regarding ethical issues about changing from commentator to politician, Sebastião Bugalho guaranteed that "there is no more democratic choice than the one" he made.   "I chose to make this transition in the most democratic way possible, which is to go to the polls. I will submit myself and subject myself to the appreciation of my fellow citizens. I will not accept a position". "I really want Portugal to have a say" Bugalho said that what "seduced" him in the project was the "state of the world".  "Everything is changing and Europe is also going to change. Portugal must have a voice in this change. We are a world at war and Europe must be a continent turned towards peace. And I really want Portugal to have a say in this process", he stressed. Support for Costa? "For now, that hypothesis is not being considered" Asked if he will support former Prime Minister António Costa for the European Council, Bugalho guaranteed that "for now, that hypothesis is not being considered". However, he recalled Costa's support, as a Member of the European Parliament, for José Manuel Durão Barroso's candidacy for President of the European Commission. "In life, I think reciprocity is a good principle".  [News updated at 19:51] Also Read: Bugalho, from journalist and commentator to "unique choice" of AD in the European elections (Portuguese version)