PS deputy and former governor Alexandra Leitão confirmed to DN yesterday that she chose to support the candidacy of Pedro Nuno Santos for party leadership and assured that she will not see herself again “in a certain narrative that is being built of radicals versus moderates, in which Pedro Nuno would be the radical – and the one who supports him – and the others would be the moderates”. Although both sides of the socialist trench want to convey an idea of unity for the same goal, namely to ensure that the party achieves good results in the parliamentary elections scheduled for March 10, the arguments of supporters of the two candidates have not avoided this division.
“I recognize Pedro Nuno Santos’ personal qualities to do things, the executive ability, that, as he himself said in his speech, only those who do not do it do not make mistakes”, emphasizes Alexandra Leitão, adding that the former Minister of Infrastructure and Housing “makes decisions, even if they are difficult decisions”. “I think he is a man with political courage,” concludes the Socialist deputy, who already assumes that she will coordinate Pedro Nuno Santos’ motion for the race for the PS leadership.
“I think the country needs a leader who is convinced and decisive and who is able to lead a new cycle of reforms to the left and open the party to society and of course to other parties on the left”PS deputy Miguel Costa Matos had said bluntly to the DN at the beginning of this week, when Pedro Nuno presented his candidacy to lead the socialist destinations.
And this is a battle that Pedro Nuno is far from waging alone: the poet and historical socialist Manuel Alegre, according to what Expresso reported yesterday, also offered his support to the former Minister of Infrastructure. It therefore follows a line already inaugurated by the President of the Economic and Social Council, Francisco Assis.
If the fighting spirit of Pedro Nuno Santos, combined with the agility with which he makes decisions or moves closer to one side of the hemisphere, is considered a radical position, it is worth understanding what is happening on the other side of the barricade happens, where the current Minister of Internal Administration, José Luís Carneiro, is the main character.
Former PS Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Jorge Lacão has already confirmed his support for the candidacy of José Luís Carneiro, sparking democratic ties. “I do this in the name of what I consider to be the right response to a fundamental problem that we all face: defending the democratic regime against the risks of the radicalization of contradictions; deepening a political attitude capable of reconciling the clarity of principles. with the ability to compromise, even with opponents, when the interests of the country require it,” the former ruler wrote in a statement accessed by DN. Moreover, Lacão emphasized, Carneiro positions itself in a certain idea of center. “The personality of a thoughtful socialist, responsible and aware of the enormous challenge it represents to guarantee the governability of the country and the deepening of a national modernization project that must not be lost in paralyzing struggles, whether dictated by thoughtless voluntarism or anti-system populism,” the former ruler concluded.
Former PS Agriculture Minister Luís Capoulas refused to accept that Pedro Nuno Santos is ahead of José Luís Carneiro, telling DN that “the size and strength of each candidacy will only be verified when the votes of the activists are expressed and therefore an internal campaign will start”. Thus, the former ruler’s justification for supporting José Luís Carneiro is related “a political positioning that is coherent, that is in line with the fundamental values of the Socialist Party, a party that has a strong social-democratic tendency, a reformist tendency, a party that is at the same time pragmatic and moderate and that is capable of building bridges with all areas of the political spectrum”highlights.
Marking a “opinion pluralism” At the PS, Alexandra Leitão prefers to bet on the idea of a socialist union. “There is a common matrix, through which we are all in the same party, and then, as all major parties have sensitivities, or they don’t, but either way, but then we say that some are radicals and some are moderates, or that some are dangerous leftists and the others are centrists, I don’t think it makes much sense.”he decides.
Source: DN
