During a campaign event in Moscavide, in the Loures municipality, Lisbon district, Pedro Nuno Santos refrained from commenting on reports suggesting that the President of the Republic is willing to delay the appointment of the prime minister to allow parties time to negotiate a government that would pass in parliament.
The Secretary-General of the Socialist Party (PS) made a direct appeal to the Portuguese electorate “not to miss the vote on May 18th.”
“Those who do not wish to wake up to a government of AD and Liberal Initiative (IL) must indeed vote. I am addressing voters on the left and at the center who do not want a radical government that will dismantle our welfare state. You must vote for the PS and not spread out your vote,” he urged.
The PS leader assured that “from the parliament that emerges after the elections,” he aims “to seek conditions to govern for four years.”
“The PS has done it several times. We have succeeded in having a government that lasts four years more than once. In democracy, negotiation is part of all democratic processes. We are capable of ensuring stability and the entirety of a legislature, even when it is not an absolute majority,” he emphasized, adding that “the PSD never succeeded.”
Facing repeated questions from journalists regarding the Expresso report, Pedro Nuno Santos argued that in “democracy, negotiation is part of all democratic processes.”
“We are capable of ensuring stability and the entirety of a legislature, even when it is not an absolute majority. The PSD never succeeded. Until Sunday, we must have the best possible result,” he stressed.
For the PS leader, predicting governance scenarios prematurely that are impossible to foresee is an “untimely exercise.”
Joining Pedro Nuno Santos in this campaign walk were Marta Temido, the PS’s lead candidate in the European elections, Mariana Vieira da Silva, head of the list for Lisbon, Ricardo Leão, the president of Loures City Hall and former leader of FAUL Lisbon, as well as Carla Tavares, an MEP and the current president of FAUL.
As the walk concluded, where the socialist leader customarily shook hands, took photos with both young and old, offered roses, and received encouraging words like “good luck” and “you must win,” he climbed onto a small stage and used a megaphone to once again urge left-leaning and centrist voters to mobilize for Sunday’s vote.
“There are also centrist voters, some of whom have voted for AD and are embarrassed by the behavior of the outgoing prime minister,” he noted, urging them “not to reward those who pushed the country to elections out of feeling pressured, who mix business with politics, and who think it normal for a government official to continue being paid while in office.”
He concluded: “I appeal to these voters not to fail on May 18th so that we can have a victory that allows us to start a secure but stable change in Portugal, defending the people.”
Before heading to Lisbon for the traditional Trindade lunch and descent of Chiado, Pedro Nuno Santos, accompanied by some members of the delegation, sat for a few moments at a local café terrace.
