“I believe we first need to listen to each other and show mutual respect,” stated José Luís Carneiro in Leiria while presenting his candidacy for party leadership.
Addressing insults on social media, “sometimes among comrades,” who “disrespect one another,” the candidate asked, “How are we viewed externally if we disrespect each other internally?”.
“We cannot allow comrades to insult or disrespect each other simply because someone decided to run for internal elections in a section, a municipal organization, or a federation,” he declared.
Emphasizing respect for “those who understand and feel they have a contribution to make to the Socialist Party,” the former government official further urged for “courage for individuals to step forward with candidacies, to run, to conduct fair, transparent, and competitive campaigns, and to present proposals and ideas because that is the essence of democracy.”
“We can only advocate for a qualified democracy externally if we can also practice it internally,” stressed José Luís Carneiro, stressing that “this has to be a fundamental premise for the lives of political parties, particularly those with the history of the Socialist Party.”
Before a full room, the sole candidate also told PS supporters and members not to be surprised when he sometimes does not respond to provocations from other parties, as “there are those who thrive on provocation, who live off provocation.”
“If we respond, we are giving room to those who use insult and disrespect instead of presenting their proposals and ideas, duly substantiated,” he explained, receiving a large round of applause.
The sole candidate to succeed Pedro Nuno Santos also argued that the PS needs to make other parties talk about socialist proposals.
“We have our priorities, we have our path. This is what we will try to assert during our time in opposition because we need to ensure that our message reaches the citizens,” he indicated.
According to José Luís Carneiro, once the message reaches the citizens, they will understand that “it addresses people’s problems.”
“We may have a valid point and not win the elections, and winning does not necessarily mean being right. We believe the Socialist Party has the valid point, and we will be able to show that the Socialist Party remains Portugal’s great party and will deserve the trust of the Portuguese in the future,” he added.
MP José Luís Carneiro is the sole candidate in the direct elections for the PS Secretary-General, scheduled for the 27th and 28th of this month, to choose the successor of Pedro Nuno Santos, who resigned following the legislative setback.
