Rui Rocha fell on the leadership of the liberal initiative

Rui Rocha resigned this Saturday from the presidency of the liberal initiative after the meeting of the executive committee that took place this afternoon, but will keep his place as a deputy. In a communication to which sunrise had access to the decision: “With the 2025 legislative elections, a new political cycle that begins with a significantly different parliamentary representation is opened. A political cycle with huge challenges and for which the liberal initiative does not depart, recognizing my full responsibility in this, with the preponderance of an electoral weight by which we fought and all we wanted”.

Our newspaper knows that, according to the statutes, the party will not have to summon elections, and may assume the position of IL vice president, Ricardo Pais Oliveira. In the event of not accepting the other vice-presidents, in this order: Mariana Leitão, Angelique da Teresa and Rui Ribeiro. If you choose internal elections, sources heard by the sunrise admit that you can advance Mariana Leitão.

And it admits that, despite the growth, the party fell short of the desirable. « This time it was liberal for more Portuguese, but not yet enough. It is not enough to accelerate Portugal as we wanted and it was so necessary. The requirement I have always applied to my personal, professional and political action does not allow me to ignore this fact and imposes that it decides in compliance. »

It is recalled that IL won another deputy in these last elections, reaching the nine, but far from the goal the party had defined.

In the same note ensures that all he did was for the party and “with total detachment” and then made that decision. « And with this same detachment of those who have never ‘clung’ anywhere, after a deep reflection, I decided to present my resignation on this date. Serving the party at this time means the opportunity for an internal discussion about the future paths of liberal initiative, the most appropriate strategic vision for the new political scenario and a new leadership. »

Rui Rocha also recalls that during the two and a half years he was in charge of the party, the liberal initiative “defended a freer Portugal in four regional elections (Azores and Madeira), some European elections and two legislative elections to which the internal elections of 2023 and 2025 were still added, that, during this period, he had to face challenges that, in other circumstances, parties and leaders They would probably only have to face in much longer periods of time, corresponding to one or even two legislatures. ”

And he recalls that the party has come to be represented in all parliaments, “obtained its best result in national elections in the European 2024 and the best result in always in the number of votes, percentage and number of terms in the 2025 elections. At the same time, the party took clear steps towards more professional management, with reinforcement of teams and new tools, growing in a number of nuclei, want members ”.

Rui Rocha, in the same note, states that he gave priority to strategic, political and financial autonomy of the liberal initiative and, therefore, “always any possibility of integrating pre-election coalitions, presenting us to all these elections with our vision, our proposals and our people”, adding that it was also why IL has always presented itself with their flags, “as the only party that reuses a director, a director, and a direction, a direction, and refuses, a direction, and refuses, a party. Statist and Seat of the country ”and hence refused to integrate the government in 2024 for noting“ that the conditions were not guaranteed to execute a reformist agenda ”.

In the form of balance she states that the right decisions were made at the most critical moments. « We made the right decision in the discussion of the confidence motion, made a good election campaign, presented our proposals with a positive view for the country, represented our voters well, we were up to the circumstances, » he says.

He adds: « Within a few years, we have profoundly marked Portuguese politics. But I am sure for Portugal and for the liberal initiative the best is yet to come. »