High hopes for PM to be ‘lucky charm’ in Dallas tonight

PSD parliamentary leader Hugo Soares has stated today that “fortunately” Portugal’s prime minister will not be attending the political conference which opens later, as he will be watching the men’s national football team perform against Spain, where he may well continue to be its “lucky charm”.

Before the start of the PSD and CDS-PP parliamentary conference, and while on his way to visit the metro construction site in Lisbon, Hugo Soares was asked whether Luís Montenegro’s absence was a significant loss for the conference – which runs until Tuesday in Cascais.

He replied that there will be a “prominent figure” at the opening of the conference – referring to the leader of the CDS-PP and defence minister, Nuno Melo – explaining that the prime minister will also be unable to close proceedings on Tuesday, due to the NATO summit in Turkey.

“Fortunately – and I really do mean fortunately – our national team, which represents us all, managed to beat Croatia and has now progressed to the round of 16, and what I hope is that the prime minister will continue to be a lucky charm,” said Soares.

Hugo Soares expressed the hope that Portugal will beat Spain today -and that the prime minister “might have to be on American soil again to watch the quarter-final match!”

“I think that is the wish of all Portuguese people, apart from a few envious souls who do not understand how important this is for the country, for our participation – even for our preparations to host the World Cup in four years’ time, which is also a tripartite World Cup between countries, just like this one – but above all to be able to be with our communities abroad and to follow our heroes of the sea on this journey,” he said.

Asked whether, with the country still on alert regarding the heatwave and wildfires, Montenegro’s absence from national territory might be criticised, Hugo Soares considered that such criticism could only stem from “ill will”.

“The prime minister is monitoring the entire situation, the interior minister is monitoring the entire situation; fortunately, things are going better than expected given the heatwave and the preparations the government and the authorities have made for this occasion,” he added.

Hugo Soares stressed that he had not heard “a single criticism” of the royal family’s presence on Sunday at the Norway v Brazil match – “the entire royal family being in the stadium and then going to the changing rooms to greet the players” – in contrast to the criticism here levelled at Montenegro.

“There are some commentators who always have to find something to say. (…) We like football and we understand that the national team is our greatest representation from the point of view of sporting spectacle.”

The PM is set to watch tonight’s match against Spain, after having been in the stands watching the team’s second group-stage match in Houston, against Uzbekistan, and their last match against Croatia, which took place in Toronto, Canada, on July 1.

His trip to Dallas has been criticised by CHEGA and Iniciativa Liberal, who both took aim at the head of the government for being out of the country at a critical time during the wildfires.

Parliamentary speaker, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, attended Portugal’s opening match at the 2026 World Cup in Houston, against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which ended 1–1, while President António José Seguro, attended the third match, in Miami, against Colombia, which ended in a goalless draw.

Portugal needs to win tonight’s match, or it will be knocked out of the competition. So, yes, the whole country is hoping for success in Dallas – and if it means the prime minister is to be considered a ‘lucky charm’, so be it.

Source: LUSA