During a CGTP protest in Lisbon, Rui Tavares, a prominent member of the political party Livre, advocated for the establishment of a “historic commitment” among left-wing parties. He emphasized the need for a “common program” pledged to preserving the National Health Service (SNS) without privatizations and increasing public investment in education.
Tavares also urged that this leftist consensus extends to infrastructure investment, public administration workers, and a unified approach to ecological transition.
On the European and international front, Tavares mentioned that Livre and other leftist groups should fight for flexibility in social investments and ecological transition at the European level, along with recognizing Palestine’s independence and supporting Ukraine.
“With this program, these minimums, and this common ground, we can go further. I believe that if this message is conveyed, it could influence polls and elections,” stated the Livre deputy.
On Friday, Tavares reiterated his willingness to participate in a government led by socialists, adding that for leftist governability, the “PS should aim for more votes and mandates than AD, and Livre should seek more votes and mandates than the Liberal Initiative.”
Tavares expressed his goal of increasing the parliamentary group in the upcoming elections and urged the PS to gain votes from the center to ensure governability.
And the PCP?
At the same CGTP protest, Paulo Raimundo, the secretary-general of the PCP, was also questioned about potential left-wing cooperation.
Raimundo called for increased support for the CDU in the May 18 elections and responded rhetorically: “Have you ever seen the PCP fail in wages, pensions, housing, against injustices, against inequalities, to lift more than two million people out of poverty?”
“Others cannot claim the same. That question must be posed to those who have failed, not us; we have never failed,” he asserted, without specifying whom he referred to.
