“Everybody knows.” The expression was repeated countless times during the meeting in Câmara de Lobos, on Tuesday, in Praça da Autonomia, and in this Wednesday morning’s conversation, at Quinta Vigia, in Funchal.
The day before, also in the morning, Miguel Albuquerque, President of the Regional Government and candidate for a new term for the PSD/CDS, opened a local accommodation in Funchal, accompanied by the Minister of Economy, Rui Barreto, and the Secretary of Finance, Rogério Gouveia. A rally would take place in the evening, around 8:30 PM. It is 7:30 PM and the square is empty.
The sun shines on the stage where the final sound tests take place. And the chorus of the campaign song – “Miguel Albuquerque for our president, Miguel Albuquerque for our president” – is rehearsed.
7.38pm: The first bus arrives. Supporters in their sixties and seventies arrive. Only three carry PSD flags. 7.47pm: A second bus stops at the top of the street. They are younger people, some teenagers who bring dozens of CDS flags. 19.54: There are more CDS flags than PSD flags. The square remains virtually empty.
Shortly afterwards, the spread of centrist and social democratic flags began. “There Celso [presidente da junta de freguesia] there is already more”, says one of the few supporters from Albuquerque at that hour. 20.12: A group of young people from the JSD, about twenty, arrive from the bottom of the street. Dressed in orange, they receive them there, at the entrance to the square, the indication for them to gather near the stage.
8:30 PM: Miguel Albuquerque arrives from Santana after a political rally. There are televisions, radios and newspapers available for your use. And a group from the JSD who will wave flags “to get on television”. There is a rush to get herself in the right place. There are a lot of people. The music coming from the stage doesn’t stop. And neither does the chorus. Your employees try to keep everything short, but the questions keep coming. When they are “finally” done, he rushes to the place where the speeches will take place.
The square was half empty. A ‘lifelong PPD supporter’ tells me disconsolately that ‘in Jardim’s time there was no such thing, it was full of people’. When I ask him why, he says, “I won’t say anything else.” Why? Doesn’t answer. He gestures with his hands for me to walk away. I thank. The lady, in her seventies, smiles and shrugs.
The speeches begin on stage. Pedro Pinto, president of Câmara de Lobos, Rui Barreto, “the man of the CDS and the Economy”, and at the end Miguel Albuquerque. Of all, only the leader of the centrists was lost in time and in the pauses that led to a few seconds of propaganda music – a ritual originating from Jardim. Albuquerque, this one, walked across the stage, often with a serious look, occasionally, a few times, laughing at those behind him. And also from time to time they gave him water and remembered ‘things’ to say. He made promises, spoke of the ‘chalupas’ and asked that no one take the majority for granted.
The meeting scheduled for that day, which could not take place according to the schedule, is postponed until the next morning.
The terraces in front of Funchal’s municipal garden are starting to fill up. In Santa Catarina Park, further along, there are a few tourists. The rise and fall of the people on Avenida do Infante is a residual phenomenon at this hour.
I arrive at Quinta Vigia. Miguel Albuquerque shows me to an office downstairs a few seconds later. What are the emergencies? “In the field of housing, it is necessary to strengthen intervention and increase the number of beds for the elderly in homes and nursing homesI’m talking about social housing, middle class housing and affordable incomes,” he explains. And also “maintaining social support for the most needy families”.
And why does it devalue the risk of poverty? “I don’t take it for granted.” And look at me seriously. ‘Everyone knows that the risk of poverty is one thing, but actual poverty is something else. If you go to Madeira you will see that this is fiction. The gross salary in Madeira is the second in the country. The picture that INE paints is not the real one. “And the 40% of the population who do not pay the IRS because they have low wages? Albuquerque continues to lean back in his chair. He lights a warm cigarette.”But there are salaries with additional compensation, such as bonuses, that are not taken into account”, he explains.
I remember André Ventura’s challenge to justify personal wealth. Are you a rich man now? Was not? “I’ve never been poor, but I’m not a rich man.” And place your elbows on the desk. ‘I don’t even have to explain anything. What I declare, what I have, is declared by the Constitutional Court. I’m not ashamed of what I have, I haven’t stolen anything from anyone.”
Regarding the polls, which gave him victory, he says that he feels “some satisfaction and some fear because they could lead to the demobilization of our electorate” and recalls that “in the Azores they gave an absolute majority to Vasco Cordeiro gifts [candidato do PS] and on election night, things were different.” Hence, he explains, the constant “call to vote.”
Do you not mix the functions of president with those of candidate? Inaugurations, visits and announcements during the day and gatherings at night. Isn’t it mixing everything up, I ask. “These are all theories that have no basis. My mandate does not end until September 24 and all my obligations must be met. I do not appeal for votes and that is why I can carry out the government’s actions.”
And festive lunches at Quinta Vigia? Isn’t it a mix of functions? I refer to the case of the PSD interparliamentary meeting with the party’s MEPs, deputies from Lisbon and Madeira. The short answer is, “I welcome everyone here.” It was a PSD meeting. “That’s fine, but it’s still an EPP group.” I insist. They were only from the PSD. “But that makes perfect sense.” Which? “Parliamentary groups are recognized and I represent the region here.”
Return to the evening of the demonstration, to half the square with supporters. “The rallies are part of the campaign, not the whole campaign. The basis is door to door,” he explains. It wasn’t like that in Alberto João Jardim’s time. Don’t you worry about that emptiness? I keep emphasizing. “What worries me is that our people are going to vote.”
Finally the future. I ask if he intends to continue until 2031. First a smile, then a serious look, then the answer. “This has to be handled very carefully. If you say you’re leaving, you’re going to have internal problems. And it depends on the physical, psychological part, it depends on the mood.” Is tired? ‘No. I say it depends…and four years is a long time.”
Source: DN
