The example of the Liberal Initiative, which postponed the National Convention scheduled for December to a date yet to be determined, also in view of the adoption of new statutes, is presented as an argument by critics of Luís Montenegro’s leadership , who do not understand the continuation of the political crisis. the revision of the statutes of PSD nationals as the raison d’etre of the 41st Congress.
“Prudence and the timing of the congress would indicate that the revision of the statutes has been postponed,” former deputy and minister Rui Gomes da Silva argues against DN, for whom the National Political Commission faces two risks: the approval of the changes ” sound like an attempted coup”, as it has been established that he will be able to choose the heads of the list in each circle and up to two-thirds of the candidates in the circles that choose more than two deputies – all except Portalegre, Europe and Outside Europe -, and the hypothesis that the proposal is rejected. A scenario in which the former ruler believes that the party leadership would be “in a disastrous situation”.
“It would mean dismissal,” says Rui Gomes da Silva, for whom the PSD should organize an elective congress. “With what moral authority is Luís Montenegro going to elections when, with bad polls for Rui Rio, he wanted a congress to challenge his leadership?”, the former minister asks.
PSD general secretary Hugo Soares recalls that the “highly qualified majority” needed to approve the revision of the statutes, which requires a three-fifths majority, meant that Passos Coelho could not promote such a process when he was already in trouble. Prime Minister. Regarding accusations of concentration of power in the party leadership when it comes to choosing candidates for deputies, he responds that “whoever says that does not know the party’s statutes, since the National Political Commission could choose all candidates until now.”
According to former deputy André Pardal, who describes the proposal to revise the statutes as “bad and cosmetic”, the PSD is missing the opportunity to really bring the party and its leadership closer to the voters. ‘All the country wants is the existence of primaries to choose the party chairman’
Other possible sources of tension in the legal review, such as the obligation to meet gender quotas, with a minimum representation of 40% of men and women on the lists for the party’s internal bodies, are something that Hugo Soares – who worked together with the party The assessment committee, composed of Miguel Pinto Luz, Matos Correia and Paulo Colaço, considers it outdated due to the months of hearings with the party structures. “In any case, the PSD statutes are for the party members what the 11 of the Seleção are for the country. Everyone would change players,” concludes the general secretary.
According to former deputy André Pardal, who describes the proposal to revise the statutes as “bad and cosmetic”, the PSD is missing the opportunity to really bring the party and its leadership closer to the voters. “All the country wants is the existence of primaries to elect the president of the party,” he says, defending the extension of this logic to the choice of lists of deputies, without limiting voting rights to the members. “The National Political Commission did not take into account this challenge, which would only strengthen the political weight of whoever was elected,” he told DN.
It is also guaranteed that, even in the scenario of approval of the proposed revision of the statutes, presented by the National Political Commission – the only one that will be presented to members of Congress, even though there have been expressions of interest in presenting alternatives of the side of activists such as António Alvim and Luís Rodrigues – none of the rules will apply to the parliamentary elections on March 10. This is because it would be necessary to create a committee that would draft the final document and approve the results of this work in the National Council.
ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION. WHICH CHANGES WILL HAVE THE BIGGEST IMPACT?
Gender quotas in the party
One of the points that threatens to complicate the approval of the proposal to revise the statutes is the imposition of a minimum gender quota of 40% for the lists of party meeting bodies, where no more than two candidates of the same gender can be placed. consecutive. Violation of the rule means that the list in question will not be accepted, although the fine does not apply to municipalities and groups with fewer than 100 registered activists. “If we don’t promote women within the party, how can we elect women in the country?” asks Paulo Colaço of the Revision Committee.
Choice of candidates
The proposal of the National Political Commission of Luís Montenegro, in addition to several “clarifications”, provides concrete criteria for choosing candidates for deputies in the Assembly of the Republic. In addition to approving the criteria for drawing up the lists, the party leadership will now be able to choose the list heads of all circles and up to two-thirds of the candidates (excluding Portalegre and the two emigration circles, which elect only two deputies). Those responsible for the review point out that until now it has been possible for the National Political Commission to exchange all names in theoretically eligible places with other candidates, as was infamous on some lists during Rui Rio’s leadership.
Checks and balances
The intention is that there will be an automatic appeal to the Jurisdiction Council of First Instance in the event of refusal of membership by someone wishing to be a member of a council, avoiding discretionary restrictions. And the proposal itself establishes the Jurisdiction Councils of First Instance, which will exist in the North (Braga, Bragança, Porto, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real and Viseu), Center (Aveiro, Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Guarda, Leiria and Portalegre) and South (Beja, Évora, Faro, Lisbon, Lisbon-Oeste, Santarém and Setúbal), ending the district jurisdictions, which those responsible for the revision admit were often dysfunctional.
Source: DN
