At a time when we are still going through the hardships of a pandemic and we are going to start facing the long unrest of an economic recession, António Costa and soon after Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa made the presidential elections in January 2021 current news.
During the joint visit of the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic to Autoeuropa, António Costa decided that he could behave as a commentator and say the supposed obvious: that he would return there with Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa during the first year of his second term.
If it is true that the history of the Presidencies of the Republic in Portugal tells us that all presidents have completed two terms, there is nothing more harmful in a democracy than taking electoral results for granted. If not, why should elections be held?
In this case, this electoral disregard was more serious, because it was given by the Secretary General of the PS and Prime Minister of Portugal, giving tacit public support to the President of the Republic from the PSD.
This kind of central bloc made public, without consulting the party and without respect for voters, fell badly to many people.
Curious that Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was surprised, because even he himself had not publicly admitted to running again. Moreover, as a candidate from the right, support from the PS may even be a poisoned gift.
António Costa said what he said and did not regret it. Furthermore, other PS power figures (such as the President of the Assembly of the Republic Ferro Rodrigues, the Mayor of Lisbon Fernando Medina or the President of the PS Carlos César) rushed to give support, which is no longer tacit, but explicit, to the re-candidacy of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
At a time when the far-right populist party, Chega, rises in the polls and when its skilled leader has already announced his candidacy for the Presidency of the Republic (to make a lot of noise), to have a center self-convinced is the worst that could happen.
Portugal is beginning to go through some changes (let alone by the generational renewal) in the political-party system: many independent candidates have already won city council elections against traditional parties (the case of Porto is exemplary) and, in the latest legislative ones, new parties have managed to be represented parliamentary that they can sustain. Furthermore, the possibility of repetition of one-party absolute majorities from the past is increasingly unlikely.
This is a sign of democratic vitality, a sign that Portugal needs more political combat, less maneuvering of interests at the center.
It is in this context that a candidacy by Ana Gomes (which had previously been unmarked but, now, before this happy center, feels compelled to move forward) should be encouraged and is critical.
Although Ana Gomes has a whole past based on a party of power and, therefore, is susceptible to attempts to bond to the rotten ones of power, her public attitudes demonstrate the opposite.
No politician from the PS, PSD or CDS (the traditional arch of governance) was able to have the courage to fight and denounce great evils of contemporary times such as corruption, great tax evasion, promiscuity between private interests - of banks and large Portuguese companies or multinationals - and the State, the subjugation of politicians to the interests of football or international politics (namely in the European Union and the United States) without autonomy before the power of big money (ex: while Paulo Portas, José Miguel Júdice and other men Isabel dos Santos fawned over the regime, Ana Gomes denounced her as a thief in Angola).
Ana Gomes has another advantage: she is an affirmative woman. And that would be a breath of fresh air in the positions of national political leadership, where a woman was never President of the Republic and only for less than a year was Prime Minister (Maria de Lurdes Pintasilgo). In presidential elections where not all the right is satisfied with Marcelo and have already announced or are preparing candidacies, not having a strong candidacy in the center-left would be a crime against democracy.
I hope Ana Gomes maintains her determination and courage and moves forward.
The author writes according to the old spelling.
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At a time when we are still going through the hardships of a pandemic and we are going to start facing the long unrest of an economic recession, António Costa and soon after Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa made the presidential elections in January 2021 current news.
During the joint visit of the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic to Autoeuropa, António Costa decided that he could behave as a commentator and say the supposed obvious: that he would return there with Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa during the first year of his second term.
If it is true that the history of the Presidencies of the Republic in Portugal tells us that all presidents have completed two terms, there is nothing more harmful in a democracy than taking electoral results for granted. If not, why should elections be held?
In this case, this electoral disregard was more serious, because it was given by the Secretary General of the PS and Prime Minister of Portugal, giving tacit public support to the President of the Republic from the PSD.
This kind of central bloc made public, without consulting the party and without respect for voters, fell badly to many people.
Curious that Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was surprised, because even he himself had not publicly admitted to running again. Moreover, as a candidate from the right, support from the PS may even be a poisoned gift.
António Costa said what he said and did not regret it. Furthermore, other PS power figures (such as the President of the Assembly of the Republic Ferro Rodrigues, the Mayor of Lisbon Fernando Medina or the President of the PS Carlos César) rushed to give support, which is no longer tacit, but explicit, to the re-candidacy of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
At a time when the far-right populist party, Chega, rises in the polls and when its skilled leader has already announced his candidacy for the Presidency of the Republic (to make a lot of noise), to have a center self-convinced is the worst that could happen.
Portugal is beginning to go through some changes (let alone by the generational renewal) in the political-party system: many independent candidates have already won city council elections against traditional parties (the case of Porto is exemplary) and, in the latest legislative ones, new parties have managed to be represented parliamentary that they can sustain. Furthermore, the possibility of repetition of one-party absolute majorities from the past is increasingly unlikely.
This is a sign of democratic vitality, a sign that Portugal needs more political combat, less maneuvering of interests at the center.
It is in this context that a candidacy by Ana Gomes (which had previously been unmarked but, now, before this happy center, feels compelled to move forward) should be encouraged and is critical.
Although Ana Gomes has a whole past based on a party of power and, therefore, is susceptible to attempts to bond to the rotten ones of power, her public attitudes demonstrate the opposite.
No politician from the PS, PSD or CDS (the traditional arch of governance) was able to have the courage to fight and denounce great evils of contemporary times such as corruption, great tax evasion, promiscuity between private interests - of banks and large Portuguese companies or multinationals - and the State, the subjugation of politicians to the interests of football or international politics (namely in the European Union and the United States) without autonomy before the power of big money (ex: while Paulo Portas, José Miguel Júdice and other men Isabel dos Santos fawned over the regime, Ana Gomes denounced her as a thief in Angola).
Ana Gomes has another advantage: she is an affirmative woman. And that would be a breath of fresh air in the positions of national political leadership, where a woman was never President of the Republic and only for less than a year was Prime Minister (Maria de Lurdes Pintasilgo). In presidential elections where not all the right is satisfied with Marcelo and have already announced or are preparing candidacies, not having a strong candidacy in the center-left would be a crime against democracy.
I hope Ana Gomes maintains her determination and courage and moves forward.
The author writes according to the old spelling.