The general secretary of the PS, António Costa, does not admit that he supports any of the candidates for his successor within the party. However, three days ago, during an evocation to Mário Soares, the Socialist leader recalled that the founder of the PS “He was one of the main proponents of the device [acordo com o PCP e Bloco de Esquerda para constituir uma maioria parlamentar]”in 2015, rejecting the voices that spoke “betrayal of Mário Soares”. Of Costa’s potential successors, Pedro Nuno Santos is the only one who does not rule out a similar agreement with the left. José Luís Carneiro emphasizes his desire to talk to the center right. Alliances will decide the winner.
With elections for António Costa’s successor at the head of the PS scheduled for December 15 and 16, the dispute between José Luís Carneiro and Pedro Nuno Santos will be measured by the names of the ‘notables’ who support them and what they defend. the future of the party. And of the country, if one of them withstands the criticism of the Portuguese and wins the elections on March 10.
“What happened in 2015, as we know, had my full support, and if there are conditions for leading a majority, it will be so”, Pedro Nuno defended Santos earlier this month and admitted there was a new deal with the left, despite it being a secondary option. “Our focus is on winning the elections. That’s the scenario we’re working on. We are not working on any other scenario,” he promised. Although Pedro Nuno doesn’t push the thing away, it seems to push him away. A week ago the communist leader, Paulo Raimundoassured that this is a possibility that “It Doesn’t Even Matter”.
In terms of electoral alliances, Pedro Nuno recalled this yesterday “He always defended that doors on the right should not be closed and that doors on the left should not be closed”. Although, “It is very important to clarify the idea that the PS is a party that presents itself to win elections and does not present itself as a supporter for the PSD during elections.”he insisted.
And within the government, Pedro Nuno Santos is still the one with the most support. It is no surprise that the Minister of Housing, Marina Gonçalves, the Minister of Environment, Duarte Cordeiro, the Minister of Education, João Costa, the Minister of Health, Manuel Pizarro, the Minister of Agriculture, Maria do Céu Antunes, and the Minister of Territorial Cohesion, Ana Abrunhosa, unites in support of the candidate.
In the same way, João Soares and Isabel Soares, children of Mário Soares, also support Pedro Nuno, as does the historical socialist, the poet Manuel Alegre. These names also include that of the President of the PS, Carlos César, that of the President of the Economic and Social Council, Francisco Assis, that of the deputies Alexandra Leitão and Edite Estrela and that of the deputy Sérgio Sousa Pinto. At the municipal level, the president of the National Association of Municipalities, Luísa Salgueiro, like 85 mayors, sides with Pedro Nuno.
On the other side of the socialist barricade, José Luís Carneiro is firing in almost every direction, with the supposed aim of fighting the radical right. “This is the party that Mário Soares founded, together with so many comrades, and that was created for us to be the party that conducts both dialogues with the left to improve social rights and dialogues with the democratic center-right to enhance the strategic functions of to improve the party. Stands”, said the candidate for secretary general of the PS yesterday. Insisting that the PS must be “able to create consensus” and to contribute “to the cooperation between political and social forces”, Carneiro also stated that his candidacy is “the only one that prevents the right from winning the elections”, adding that “there are no expected winners”.
The President of the Assembly of the Republic, Augusto Santos Silva, is one of the strong supporters in the ranks of José Luís Carneiro, as are the Minister of Finance, Fernando Medina, and the Secretary of State for the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, André Moz Caldas, and that of the leader of the Socialist Bank, Eurico Brilhante Dias. Names close to Costa.
Former Justice Minister José Vera Jardim and former Education Minister Eduardo Marçal Grilo also support Carneiro, joining a list that includes Maria de Belém, Alberto Arons de Carvalho, António Correia de Campos, Inês de Medeiros and the former minister of Justice. Labor and Social Security José Vieira da Silva, father of the Minister of the Presidency, Mariana Vieira da Silva. The governor’s name appears in a group of people from Costa’s neighborhood who opted for neutrality, as is the case with the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Ana Catarina Mendes, and the Prime Minister’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, António Mendonça Mendes.
Mário Soares, mentioned by António Costa and José Luís Carneiro in terms of understanding with other parties, led the II and IX Constitutional Governments in coalition. The first, in 1978, emerged from a parliamentary advocacy agreement with the CDS, involving ministers from both parties, and lasted about seven months. It came to an end due to disagreement. The IX government went one step further between 1983 and 1985, but did not reach the end either. The outcome of a parliamentary advocacy agreement between PS and PSD would also end in disagreement. Costa’s apparatus, between 2015 and 2019, was an agreement that was maintained until the end of the mandate, but only with socialist rulers.
Source: DN
