Historic centrist leader Paulo Portas will meet again tonight with CDS-PP chairman Nuno Melo in a second round of staff meeting in which the now television commentator, business consultant and university professor aims to ensure that the party he led for 16 years will return to the Assembly of the Republic after the elections of March 10, 2024.

In addition to extending some invitations to figures more or less distant from the party, the former leader negotiated coalition governments with Social Democratic Prime Ministers Durão Barroso, Pedro Santana Lopes and Pedro Passos Coelho – and joint lists with the latter in 2015 parliamentary elections – was one of the most intervening participants in the first meeting of the meeting, on Monday evening. His predecessor at the head of the party, Manuel Monteiro, State Councilor António Lobo Xavier, and several other former governors, deputies and centrist leaders were also present at the CDS-PP national headquarters, including some who left the party (see box) . shock with the previous leadership. And today, more prominent figures from Portismo are expected, such as Assunção Cristas, who succeeded Paulo Portas at the head of the party and served as Minister of Agriculture; Pedro Mota Soares, president of the Cascais City Council and former Minister of Labor; and Luís Nobre Guedes, former Minister of the Environment.

There will also be contributions from independents, with the President of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Bruno Bobone, expected this evening in Largo Adelino Amaro da Costa; the CEO of Grupo Pestana, José Theotónio, and the lawyer and writer Nuno Gonçalo Poças, among others. The author of books such as Presos por um Fio – Portugal and FP-25 de Abril told DN that his participation is part of a series of calls to “people outside the party bubble” to “give ideas on how the party can win back voters”. .

Reduced to 1.6% in the 2022 parliamentary elections, with only 89,113 votes, which meant it was left without the parliamentary representation it had had since the 1975 Constituent Assembly elections, the CDS-PP guarantees that it is prepared for the very possibility heading into the next election. But without losing focus on the coalition with the PSD, which is not yet guaranteed, although the centrist leadership believes that it will have arguments to convince Luís Montenegro of the benefits of joining forces to ensure the election of more mandates for the Assembly of the Republic. supplant the PS as the power with the most votes.

Melo points to four circles

For Nuno Melo, the former centrist governments will be one of the main assets that the CDS-PP will have to have to convince voters who voted for other parties in 2022, especially Chega and the Liberal Initiative. “We are right, which is very credible, and which has the experience of six governments and cadres recognized by the Portuguese,” the MEP told DN.

Melo assures that he has reasons to be optimistic, after involving hundreds of people in party initiatives in Braga and Vila Nova de Famalicão, and also emphasizes the “message of unity” resulting from the mobilization of former leaders, former governors and former members of centrist parliamentary institutions. groups.

“We are determined to return the CDS to the Assembly of the Republic with great joy and great faith,” says Nuno Melo, for whom “what happened in 2022 was cyclical” and the meetings that took place serve to “continue a cycle of prepare for growth”. The aim is to organize elections in the most important circles and the centrist leader admits that “the party must expect to have deputies again” in Lisbon, Porto, Braga and Aveiro. Precisely the circles in which the party, even with the worst results, until the catastrophe of 2022, apart from 1997, achieved the first absolute majority of Cavaco Silva’s PSD, when it also did not receive a mandate in Aveiro.

“It is important that the CDS is relevant in the center-right political space to form majorities and governments,” argues Nuno Melo, who reserves the main electoral messages of the party, alone or in a coalition, for the synthesis work being carried out. after today’s meeting. In any case, he says that the ‘social right’ of his party will want to ‘save the National Health Service and the public schools, which the PS has left with the worst performance in its memory’, without forgetting areas such as justice, agriculture or health care . use of community funds. And he will argue that “the party was not replaced by anyone” during this term.