Legislative. First socialists refuse places from Monday

Despite being the socialist leader who in the last decades the biggest domain had about the Socialist Party (PS) device, the last days were difficult for Pedro Nuno Santos: weaves an initial conflict with José Luís Carneiro, he saw Fernando Medina refuse to be a list head by Leiria and finally, Sérgio Sousa Pinto also knocked on the door.

The time to make choices for lists of deputies is always one of the most difficult times for any leadership and this time, with the opposition party and with no prospect of returning to power, the choice of socialist names generated controversy. Much more than it was desired by the secretary general.

Earlier this week, days before the date announced for the closing of socialist lists, Fernando Medina made a note to the press, announcing his decision to abandon Parliament in the next legislature. In this statement, the former finance minister summoned reasons of « personal nature » to interrupt « twenty consecutive years in which he has performed high political functions. »

The decision was communicated to Pedro Nuno Santos on Monday, but at the sunrise a socialist source ensures that before that, the secretary general would have invited Medina to be a list of list by Leiria. The deputy, who was already president of the Lisbon Cammara he would not have enjoyed being sent to a district with which he has no light connection and eventually deciding to abandon the parliamentary life. In the note he sent to the media guarantees that he is « totally committed to the PS’s victory in the upcoming legislative elections. »

Despite the justifications given, the truth is that Fernado Medina’s option was interpreted as the logical sequence of a course in which he was moving away from the leadership options, which culminated in the vote declaration that he decided to present after the vote of the confidence motion that had the fall of Luis Montenegro’s government.

In the Voting Declaration, the former Minister of António Costa argues that he must have made more to avoid the crisis that at a crucial moment leaves Portugal « without a voice in the European framework » and foresees that in the elections « the relations between right/left blocks in parliament may not undergo significant change, which will lead to the new government solution that will continue to sick from deep political weaknesses. »

Sousa Pinto Fora
Also Sérgio Sousa Pinto did not like to be relegated to the middle of the list of candidates for Lisbon. At a meeting he had on Sunday with Pedro Nuno Santos, the deputy still began to accept, but the place reserved for him, along with the distant relationship that over the last few months had with the party direction, eventually dictated his decision.
Sérgio Sousa Pinto, like Francisco Assis and Álvaro Beleza, were the three moderate supports in which Pedro Nuno Santos bet when he applied for party leadership. Knowing that he had glued to the skin to the image of radical, he sought with remarkable socialists admittedly moderate to design the idea of ​​a much more embraced leader.

The support at the time caused surprise, forcing Assisi, Sousa Pinto and beauty to explain why they are next to Pedro Nuno Santos, against the moderate centrist, José Luís Carneiro.
A year later, this party wing is disappointed with the leader and considers that it is not considered or found in the main decisions. The time of compliments to Pedro Nuno Santos is over.

Socialists already talk about day after
The successive surveys showing a PS who does not take off and especially showing that Pedro Nuno Santos loses to Luís Montengro as a candidate for prime minister have brought discouragement off the rat. The news of the departure of Fernando Medina and Sérgio Sousa Pinto from the lists of deputies did not help change the state of mind and the truth is that the scenarios about the party’s future the day after a new socialist defeat begin to do.

In the direction of the party, a way out of Pedro Nuno Santos’s leadership is not equated in case of defeat. « If you can climb the level and show the country that there are alternatives that will sit next to you in Parliament, as is the case of Fernando Araújo, there is no reason to leave, » they guarantee us.

A change of leader is only equated in a hypothesis considered impossible for an electoral hecatombe, a scenario that no one predicts.
But the fact that it is not equated a replacement in the immediate, it does not mean that they are not already doing the accounts for the post-pedestrian Nuno Santos. « Congress will be after the presidential and if he (PNS) gets there with three losses, there will be changes, » comments a disgruntled socialist.
As we heard throughout the week with several socialists, it seems to be installed inside the party a clear division between the most moderate and the radical sayings. « We are not from the block, we are from the luminous source, » a militant vented to our newspaper. But even among the most aligned with the Secretary General, there is concern to remove places with more visibility a left wing of the party and look for a party’s recounting. And also among these is already spoken of the successor of Pedro Nuno.