The Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the CDS-PP have reached an agreement to govern the Autonomous Region of Madeira, with the leader of the Christian Democrats, José Manuel Fernandes, set to join the regional government.
José Manuel Fernandes will assume the role of Social Affairs Minister, stepping down from his position as President of the Legislative Assembly of Madeira, which he held since 2019. The position is expected to be taken over by Rubina Leal from the PSD.
The new government arrangement will be presented to the Representative of the Republic for Madeira, Ireneu Barreto, this coming Friday, coinciding with the reception of the six parties that secured seats in the Legislative Assembly in Sunday’s early regional elections.
In a development, the agreement covering parliamentary affairs and governance of the Autonomous Region is set to be officially signed on Tuesday afternoon.
“We are likely to finalize the agreement with the CDS this afternoon,” announced Miguel Albuquerque, President of the regional government of Madeira since 2015, after attending mass at Sé Cathedral in Funchal.
Miguel Albuquerque explained that “it will be a written agreement, following the tradition of past agreements” between the PSD and CDS-PP, ensuring that both parliamentary and governmental principles are encapsulated in the agreement.
He added, “This will be an agreement that has both parliamentary and governmental implications.”
When asked whether the Christian Democrats, led in the region by José Manuel Rodrigues, would join the executive, Albuquerque avoided a direct answer, indicating only that “in principle, that is the direction we are heading towards,” but details would be finalized only “by this afternoon.”
The PSD/Madeira leader also did not confirm whether José Manuel Rodrigues, who has served as the President of the Legislative Assembly for the past five years and was the only one elected by the CDS-PP on Sunday, would hold a ministerial position in the Regional Government or if a vice-presidency would be created.
“I cannot confirm at this moment; everything will be clarified by the end of the afternoon,” he stated.
On Monday, José Manuel Rodrigues, the President of CDS-PP/Madeira, mentioned a scheduled meeting with the regional leader of the PSD, Miguel Albuquerque, to “seek an agreement,” hinting that the solution might involve either a parliamentary understanding or a coalition agreement.
It is notable that, according to provisional official results from the Office of the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Internal Administration, the PSD received 62,085 votes (43.43%) and secured 23 seats in the 47-member Regional Legislative Assembly, missing an absolute majority by one seat.
The second most voted party was Together for the People (JPP), with 30,094 votes (21.05%) and 11 seats in the regional parliament, while the Socialist Party (PS) fell from second to third, with 22,355 votes (15.64%) and eight seats.
Chega elected three deputies with 7,821 votes (5.47%), the CDS-PP secured one seat with 4,288 votes (3.00%), and the Liberal Initiative (IL) also captured one seat with 3,097 votes (2.71%).
[Updated at 13:00]
