“This convention marks the beginning of a new phase. A phase when we leave our internal disputes behind and turn all our strength outward. Because our opponents are not here, they are in the established regime,” stated Mariana Leitão in her first speech after being announced as the new leader of IL.
The new IL leader emphasized that the liberals’ opponents “are in the machinery that perpetuates stagnation, in the culture of conformity, in timid authoritarianism that infantilizes citizens, and in all those who live off others’ dependence and fear freedom.”
“Portugal will not change with patches. It will not grow with more public programs, temporary subsidies, or promises of good intentions. The country will only change when we have the courage to do what is structural: reform the State profoundly and free the labor market,” she said.
In the vision she presented to the country, Mariana Leitão stated that “everything begins with the reform of the State,” considering it necessary “a smaller, lighter, more agile State, which concentrates its resources on essential functions and abandons the temptation to act as a businessman.”
“Without this reform, no other will succeed. And that is why labor market flexibility will only make sense and have an impact if the State stops being the biggest obstacle to economic freedom,” she asserted.
Stating that “labor laws remain rigid and outdated,” Mariana Leitão advocated for a reform to make the labor market “truly free,” allowing for “more flexible contracts, adjusted to the reality of each sector, each company, and each person.”
“With a reformed State and a free labor market, Portugal can finally unleash its potential,” she affirmed.
Subsequently, Mariana Leitão listed several of the party’s flagship issues in health, education, housing, and taxes, urging Portugal to invest in areas like artificial intelligence, clean energy, or science.
“IL wants a bold country: capable of leading in new technologies, attracting talent, competing globally, with a competitive tax system and clear rules, where time is not wasted seeking permission, but rather creating, innovating, conquering,” she emphasized.
The new leader said that IL does not resign itself to the possible, nor does it accept “that courage is absent from politics.”
“We will not succumb to fear, conformity, or rotten consensus. Portugal can be free, can be great, can be better. Our story is just beginning,” she said, before making another appeal for internal unity.
“Let’s, together, lead this new liberal cycle: with ideas, with conviction, and with freedom. This is our time. IL is alive, ready, united. And ready to lead,” she concluded, surrounded by the new members of the party’s leadership.
