He is Vice President of the Regional Government of the Azores and also the leader of the regional CDS. How does the coalition work?
The coalition in the Azores is working very well, in a spirit of commitment and loyalty between the three parties in the coalition, which is led by the PSD and President José Manuel Bolieiro, the other partner is the PPM, with Dr. Paulo Estêvão and I, who serve as president of the CDS. That is why we formed this government coalition, because we understood that this was the will of the Azores, to make a change after 24 years of socialism and to bring about a significant change in the society of the Azores. It was this spirit of paradigm shift that brought us together and that unites us, and that fortunately has good results and is well accepted by the Azores. This is the feedback we have from the Azores.
On the mainland – since these three parties do not have an absolute majority – there is a lot of talk about the agreements they make, namely with the deputy of Chega. Do these controversies reaching the continent affect governance?
The government coalition is a tripartite coalition, led by the PSD, with the CDS and the PPM. The parliamentary advocacy agreements, which now no longer exist because they are all broken, but which existed in the beginning, were parliamentary advocacy agreements and nothing more. By the way, in the case of the Liberal Initiative, the agreement was only with the PSD and not with the CDS and the PPM, so this is a very variable geometry. I think it is an example for democracy and I think above all it is an example for absolute majorities. And note that despite this multitude of variable geometry parties, which are in the regional parliament, we have to add the PAN, the Bloco de Esquerda and the Socialist Party, there are eight parties in total, and yet we have achieved stability in the governing the Azores. And an absolute majority is not always synonymous with stability.
The CDS of the Azores has a municipal council, that of Velas, and is part of the regional government. As a parliamentary group, they are the third largest party. How do you view the absence of the CDS in the Assembly of the Republic of the Azores?
It was with great sadness for me that it was very sad news that the CDS lost parliamentary representation. I think very active work needs to be done with the people, to get across the message of Christian Democracy, that the CDS is essential to democracy, in fact one of the founders of democracy in Portugal. That is why it is a party with a history that has already given Portugal a lot and I believe that there must be a great degree of unity among everyone, to end the quarrels that they have to throw behind their backs, to unite them all, and unite Allen around an organization essential to Portuguese democracy called CDS.
Is Nuno Melo’s leadership moving in that direction to return to the roots of the CDS?
I think Dr Nuno Melo has to make a big effort in that sense, it’s not easy, because there were antibodies, there were mistakes on both sides, which are from the past, are not recent, at least since after the PAF took over the government left. So it went well until the PS took office in 2015. But then the CDS started to lose its way I think and it looks like he’s kind of lost it – but I hope it’s not for good – and I hope Nuno Melo has the art and genius to put together bring , unite and build .
Are the Liberal Initiative and Chega eroding the CDS voter base nationally in different ways?
I think Chega is eroding the protest mood no matter what party the people are from. I think they corrode in the PS, they corrode in the PSD, in fact they come from the PSD, André Ventura was from the PSD, but I think Chega cannot corrode in the CDS. The Liberal Initiative, I think so a bit, and that is why the CDS must do its utmost and, of course, return to parliament. Because it is essential that the CDS return to the national parliament to implement its measures and what it stands for. But it can also be done outside parliament, because the CDS has the vice-presidency of the Lisbon City Council, it also has several city councils on the mainland, it has a wide range of parish councils, it is a party that exists and in municipal power, but has lost the Assembly of the Republic, perhaps the most visible beacon of politics, but the power closest to the people is local power and it must be visible.
I think Chega is eroding the protest mood no matter what party the people are from. I think they corrode in the PS, they corrode in the PSD, in fact they come from the PSD, André Ventura was from the PSD, but I think Chega cannot corrode in the CDS
So, is it mainly the liberal initiative that is eroding the CDS vote?
Yes, even because some have joined the Liberal Initiative: it hasn’t happened here in the Azores, but on the mainland it seems to me, that’s the feeling I have. Now the CDS voters are perfectly fixable and it’s not even in the Liberal Initiative, I mean the core of the CDS, much less in Chega. And so we need to know how we’re going to make it.
Should the CDS seek votes from its former voters who are currently abstaining?
There are people who abstained and did not vote and that is why we have to get them. What I said is that not only the Assembly of the Republic is very important for the public image and the dissemination of the CDS message, but we should also not forget about the local and municipal authorities who have to take to the streets, they have to go to the voters to spread the message of the CDS. That’s what needs to happen on the mainland, we need to go out and meet the people with the elected representatives we have.
Can you imagine the CDS as part of a right-wing government solution in Portugal, as in the Azores?
I believe that if there is a right-wing solution in Portugal, and I hope there is, the CDS will be fundamental in this coalition, because of its values, principles and history.
The DN traveled at the invitation of the GlexSummit
Source: DN
