A group of thirteen national PSD advisors has made a recommendation to the national leadership: that a change in the law should be implemented that reforms the party and brings it closer to the citizens and not just closes itself off to activists. To this end, the signatories of the proposal ask the party leadership to propose that “the election of the PSD president will take place through primaries, open to citizens and activists, with voting taking place simultaneously with the congress”, they explain in a statement.
The recommendation appeared this Monday, two days before the deadline for submitting proposals to the congress on November 25, which will take place in Almada and where the party’s statutes will be discussed.
In the statement sent, the 13 national advisors also state that “in this legal revision, the PSD has the opportunity to give the Portuguese the answer that everyone expects: a closer party and political system”.
Although open primaries are a more widespread practice at the European level, they are still not common in Portugal. Currently, only Livre has this method for electing leaders and organizing lists (in fact, it was the first national party to do so in April 2014).
Months later, the PS also approved primaries, following a model similar to direct elections. The goal was to choose who would lead the party in the legislature the following year: António Costa (who won the primaries) or António José Seguro (who later left office).
At the time, PSD MEP Paulo Rangel assumed that the party should reflect on the issue, which he considered a “positive idea”. The topic has since returned to the social democratic table twice: in 2020, in a motion signed by activists such as Miguel Poiares Maduro or António Leitão Amaro (current vice-president of the party); and in 2022, in a proposal presented by the Social Democratic Youth. In 2017, the current president of the PSD, Luís Montenegro, stated that he was against the idea and assumed that he was “not a big fan of primaries”.
‘PSD must reinvent itself’
But given this apparent lack of internal consensus, why bring this issue to Congress? “The logic is to send a very clear message to the National Political Commission (CPN): it is necessary to look and find a way to think. It is essentially a recommendation to the CPN,” explains DN Simão Santana, president of the Section de Aveiro of the PSD and one of the signatories of the proposal presented yesterday. To Lusa, another signatory of the suggestion explained that the necessary signatures had not been collected to submit a proposal for a full legal overhaul because “there is no point” since the focus is on only one thing: keeping primaries within the party.
Despite disagreements – and bearing in mind that this is only a suggestion – subscribers still expect to be heard. “This is a path that is followed. The PSD must reinvent itself. It is a party that needs people to think and come up with solutions for specific areas,” the Social Democrat believes, adding: “This is the ideal time to do this reflection. Political systems are alive, they are not isolated actors, and parties must follow this. What we have in the PSD is diametrically opposed to that.”
If it does not update itself, says Simão Santana, the PSD “risks disappearing because other parties update themselves”.
“Despite the necessary differences and specificities, António Costa was elected [para secretário-geral] via this method. It is a reform with a significant dimension of activity, and the party is eager and thirsty for these reforms. The country and the system do not stop and the PSD must follow this,” says Simão Santana. “It is an act of courage that is necessary, a necessary reflection, because it is necessary to bring the PSD closer to the people,” says he concludes.
When contacted by DN on the subject, an official party source said it had not analyzed the proposal “in detail” and therefore declined to comment further.
Source: DN
