None of them are the founders of the Liberal Initiative. Rui Rocha joined in 2019, as did Carla Castro. “The party is young,” the deputy now throws a candidate for the leadership of the formation, ignoring the fact that she did not cycle among the liberals of this 2017, when IL was born. “I have a lot of motivation to become president, I believe a lot in the project,” plays the also deputy and candidate for the succession of João Cotrim Figueiredo.
There is another point that unites them, but for different reasons. “IL can never be populist,” assures Rui Rocha, who fears his defense of “populizing liberalism” will lead to this idea. “I’m not a populist, I’m a reformist,” emphasizes Carla Castro.
The liberal deputy is thus trying to mark a boundary with the idea that one can hold on to the opponent, whom she accuses of being “advanced” in this race. Not only because she had received the immediate support of Cotrim Figueiredo, but also because she knew “two weeks ago” that the leader wanted to stop being one when many others were “surprised”, including herself.
But in this path of rejecting the “populist” way of growing the party, there is another guarantee given by both: coalitions with Chega “never”, even if the electoral future points to a right-wing majority with the PSD , a party they see with good eyes as a potential partner in a coalition to “take the PS out of power”.
So far, nothing else related to current leader João Cotrim Figueiredo’s speech, who assumes he has made a decision that may pose “risks” to the party. Not least because both are aware that, despite being elected as deputies, they do not have the fame they gained from the leader in parliament that helped the bank expand its base to eight terms.
The lack of awareness reacts differently. Carla Castro assumes that “there is still no answer to that”. And that’s how you get it. He still misses the team, he passes out. Rui Rocha, on the other hand, shows confidence: “With me is a good part of the faction and the team that built IL’s success. We know what we have to do”. He also argues that the image of the two previous leaders (there was a third who is unknown) – Carlos Guimarães Pinto and Cotrim Figueiredo – was not the key to the political affirmation of liberal ideas in the country. In January’s parliamentary elections, they voted for Lisbon, Setúbal, Porto and Braga. And they are the fourth political force in Parliament.
being on the street
The deputy elected by Braga, aged 52, wants to “popularize and liberalize” in the sense of expanding to the corners he has not yet reached. He gives the example of Madeira, which has regional elections next year and where IL has no representation in the regional parliament. “We need flags to talk to this electorate.
He advocates a “simple, more direct speech” and the jump from social networks, in which he has a strong presence, to “buses, trains”. He takes public transportation, which allows him to “hear people”. “Last week I was on the street distributing pamphlets” about the government’s “trick” to award the 125 euros,” he also illustrates to demonstrate the position of leader he will try to have if he is elected. postponement of the party convention.
IL’s banners, Rui Rocha underlines, should maintain — including fiscal proposals, economic growth, freedom of choice in health and education — and add “those proposals that respond to people’s concerns,” such as housing, mobility, energy, security and revitalization. of the interior. And it promises a symbiosis between the irreverent version of the party, so prominent in its bold billboards, and the concrete proposals that made it more austere in the 2022 election campaign.
social elevator
The deputy elected by Lisbon is against the postponement of the convention and despite the criticism of the process such as the announcement of the departure of Cotrim Figueiredo and the announcement of Rui Rocha, underlines “on the day after the elections [para a liderança] we will all work and I want to reject any lack of rest in IL”.
Of those within the party who point the finger at him from a “more conservative” wing than that of the opponent, he replies that he is “humanistic, tolerant and liberal in every way, political, economic and social”. It therefore guarantees that if she is elected, she will be “president of all liberals”.
As a member of the IL Executive Committee, she says she identifies 100% with the party’s program, especially as she was the coordinator of the engineering bureau. “It is necessary to respect the matrix and a vision with an external focus, namely a more liberal Portugal. The great flag it will carry is that of social mobility.
Source: DN
