Wood. PSD and CDs officialize majority government

After weeks of political uncertainty in Madeira, the PSD and the CDs seized an agreement to ensure « four years of stability and governability » in the autonomous region. Without an absolute majority in the regional elections, social democrats, led by Miguel Albuquerque, resorted to their traditional partner to form a majority government, repeating the alliance that has already prevailed between 2019 and 2023.

The new executive solution between PSD and CDS-PP, as well as the list of members of the Regional Government, is presented this Friday to the Republic representative. Ireneu Barreto who has already confirmed that he will receive the six parties that guaranteed seat in the Legislative Assembly.
It is recalled that the PSD was winning in the elections last Sunday, with 43.43% of the votes and 23 deputies, leaving a deputy to obtain the absolute majority necessary to rule. In this scenario, it was already expected that the CDS was the key for social democrats to reach the absolute majority.

CDS leader assumes economy folder
The Regional Secretariat of Economy will be attributed to the leader of CDS-M, José Manuel Rodrigues, who should also include the folders of European affairs, commerce and industry, as well as transport, in this case terrestrial and sea.

Upon taking office in the regional executive, José Manuel Rodrigues had abdicated the presidency of the Legislative Assembly of Madeira, which he had been holding since 2019. The position should now be held by the PSD deputy Rubina Leal.

For now, the remaining composition of the new Madeiran executive is still unknown, but Eduardo Jesus should continue to the Tourism Folder and Jorge Carvalho in Education.

Miguel Albuquerque also admitted in a magazine to the NOW channel that PSD parliamentary leader Jaime Filipe Ramos, « may be a possibility » in the new government. According to Jornal da Madeira, Jaime Filipe Ramos should succeed Rogério Gouveia in finance.

Agreement opens doors to national coalitions
The parliamentary and governmental incidence agreement also includes the possibility of electoral coalitions. According to José Manuel Rodrigues, he said at a press conference, this hypothesis could be materialized in the national legislatures of May 18, with an alliance between PSD and CDS. The same scenario may be repeated in local elections, especially in Funchal, where the two parties have already formed coalition in the past.

“Each party preserves its party activity and identity, respecting the terms of this agreement. However, considering the holding of future electoral acts, namely this year, national legislative elections and local elections, it is considered of special importance in the pursuit of this agreement that negotiations between subscribers to define coalitions will be filled in the document.

The alliance between the two parties is no longer new, but behind the desire for ‘stability’ that unites them, there is a lot that separates them. At the sunrise, José Manuel Rodrigues recalls that « the CDS was a competent party in opposition to the PSD for decades » and « it is a party that clearly distinguishes itself from the PSD in the solutions it has for Madeira. »

« The PSD has a more economical view of what its governing action should be, while the CDS, perhaps because it is a Democratic-Christian party, has more social sensitivity and is more aware of issues that currently worry the families of Madeira, » he says.

Budget approval guarantee
The new understanding between PSD and CDS ensures the feasibility of the Regional Government, ensuring now the approval of its program and regional budgets for the next four years. As the centrist leader pointed out, the immediate priority of the coalition will be the approval of the regional budget.

“The agreement is based on the PSD program, now reinforced with CD proposals aimed at boosting economic growth, promoting social justice, valuing salaries, reducing taxes, strengthening the middle class and combating exclusion. In addition, it provides a strong investment in health and housing, ”said José Manuel Rodrigues.

Albuquerque reinforced the importance of understanding between PSD and CDS, classifying it as « a commitment of honor » between the two parties.
“What voters expressed was the desire of a stable government for four years. Our conviction is that the agreement will be fulfilled in full, ”said Albuquerque, noting that similar agreements of parliamentary and governant incidence have always been respected in the past.

REVIEW REVIEWING REGIONAL Finance
In addition to governability, the agreement highlights the need for a constitutional revision and the deepening of regional autonomy. Among the priorities is the revision of the Regional Finance Law, allowing its own fiscal system, and the creation of a new incompatibilities law.
The leaders of the two parties have also committed efforts to achieve political, economic and social reforms essential to the development of wood and to ensure a common position in censorship or confidence to the government.

Legislative: JPP can debut in the air
The board of national legislatures may also be having a turnaround. In the 2024 legislatures, held in March, the ‘Madeira First’ coalition, composed of the PSD and CDS-PP, elected three of the six deputies attributed to the Madeira Electoral Circle. The remaining three terms were distributed as follows: two to the Socialist Party (PS) and one for arrival.

In these regions, the PSD, which was close to the absolute majority, and Together for the People (JPP), the second political force, were the winners of Madeira’s early legislatures. The PS, now in third place, and arrives, which lost more votes, came out defeated.

According to these results, in the legislative elections in May, the PSD could elect an extra deputy, with four places in the National Parliament. Already the arrival may lose the only deputy with national representation.

The big news may be the entry of the JPP in the Assembly of the Republic, which is practically guaranteed, if the popularity remains as in the regional. The party, founded in 2010, had never been able to obtain parliamentary representation in Lisbon, despite participation in several elections.