The President of the Republic's words about the current and former Prime Ministers shocked the political class - from the Left to the Right - with accusations of "prejudice" and "bad taste". The Left Bloc, the Free Party and the People-Animals-Nature Party (PAN) considered that Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa should retract the statements he made about Luís Montenegro - who the Head of State considered to have "rural behaviours" - and about António Costa - who he accused of "being slow, for being oriental". The coordinator of the Left Bloc, Mariana Mortágua, the parliamentary leader of the Free Party, Isabel Mendes Lopes, and the PAN deputy Inês Sousa Real regretted above all the "bad taste and prejudiced" references made by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa about rurality, which he attributed to Luís Montenegro, and also about an alleged "oriental" influence on António Costa's personal conduct. In the view of Mariana Mortágua, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa's words "are not up to the position he holds", revealing "prejudice towards the rural world", having used "expressions that manifest classism". "It was very important that the President of the Republic could retract his statements. It was not just a question of bad taste, it is not just a bad way of expressing the relationship between the President of the Republic and the Head of Government, it is also a manifestation of prejudice, discrimination and classism", she stressed. The parliamentary leader of the Free Party expressed her shock at the statements made public by the President of the Republic. "We recall that the President of the Republic represents the unity of the country, represents all people in Portugal, all Portuguese people, from north to south, from east to west, from rural to coastal. Therefore, we are shocked that these statements have been made, since they serve to fuel prejudices - and the President of the Republic cannot contribute to feeding prejudices and contributing to a greater polarization of Portuguese society", she declared. These positions were transmitted to journalists, in the Assembly of the Republic, in reaction to recent words uttered by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on Tuesday, during a dinner with journalists from the Foreign Press Association in Lisbon. For the PAN deputy Inês de Sousa Real, the Head of State's words were unfortunate, highlighting the adjectives that were used to target not only the current Prime Minister but also the former Prime Minister. "The President of the Republic must represent everyone, regardless of whether we belong to the urban or rural environment, or regardless of our origin, in particular, in this case, making references to those who are from the east. For PAN, it is essential that we can promote greater inter-institutional respect and, in this sense, we cannot fail to repudiate the statements", she said. Today, the President of the Republic confirmed the statements attributed to him at a dinner with foreign journalists on Tuesday, but considered that he did not make offensive remarks and that the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, "will surprise". The leader of the Liberal Initiative (IL), Rui Rocha, also referred to the President's controversial statements, on social media, stressing only that he had lived in Espinho. I would like to say that my mother and my grandparents are from Espinho and that I myself also lived there for a year. Carlos Guimarães Pinto, also from IL, commented that "Montenegro even grew up in the most urban part of the municipality of Espinho" and added: "Now imagine if he had grown up in the village of Paramos." The Socialist deputy Isabel Moreira confessed to being shocked and "in a state of denial" with Marcelo's words. "I want to find an 'excuse' for these statements. But objectively we cannot fail to read and hear them. They are real. They are unacceptable. They are unworthy. I don't even know how to apologize. And do you apologize?", she asked. In the view of the Left Bloc deputy Joana Mortágua, "if the President cannot be around journalists without making prejudiced and inappropriate comments, it is preferable that he closes himself in Belém". The economist and MEP of the Left Bloc José Gusmão wrote only that Marcelo "is not in a position to hold this position". Also from the Left Bloc, Nelson Peralta considered that the fact that the Head of State used the word "'rural' as derogatory about Montenegro" is a "good portrait of the country's elites". The presidents of the parliamentary groups of the PSD, Hugo Soares, and of the PS, Alexandra Leitão, refused to comment on the case, despite the fact that the Head of State made references to Luís Montenegro and António Costa. The same option followed by PSD and PS was the PCP deputy António Filipe. Read Also: Marcelo says Montenegro has "rural behaviours" and Costa is "slow" (Portuguese version)