The Secretary-General of the Socialist Party (PS), José Luís Carneiro, commented on Thursday about the departure of Mário Centeno from the role of governor of the Bank of Portugal, announced today, and the potential implications for the PS.
“Mário Centeno is independent, but if he is available to contribute to the country, and also to the PS, it could be good news”, he stated in an interview with SIC Notícias when asked if he fears Centeno might be aiming for Carneiro’s position as a way to “save the PS.”
Pressed on whether this position might indeed be Centeno’s next ambition, José Luís Carneiro was assertive: “Not at all.”
With any ambitions within the PS ‘overcome’, there remains Belém. Asked if the PS would then try to “convince” Centeno to consider a candidacy for Belém, the socialist leader described Centeno as someone who “had a career not only in the country but also in Europe”, and therefore, he was “convinced that he had the credentials to perform many roles, including those of an international nature.”
Regarding Belém, Carneiro emphasized that it is “a personal decision” rather than a party matter, and convincing him is not “the function of a political party leader.”
And the other presidential candidacies?
Regarding the center-left candidacies of António José Seguro (PS) and António Filipe (PCP) so far, the socialist said, “We will have the appropriate time to decide on presidential candidacies. Currently, our priority is the local elections.”
“Considering the decision that the National Commission made in due time, in February, we must respect the decision of the most important body between congresses. We will make a decision after the municipal elections,” he stated.
Reinforcing that that decision regarding the PS’s support in the presidential elections had not yet been made, José Luís Carneiro assured, “We will make a decision democratically at the national level of the PS.”
When asked if he didn’t wish to receive immediate support if he ever ran for candidacy, especially since Seguro once held his current position, he said: “We need to take things in their own time. I don’t understand why there’s a rush. We have stages in the political process and we will respect the decisions of the PS organs.”
Dismissing Centeno is a “political” and “negative” decision
Carneiro said on Thursday that the decision to dismiss Centeno from the governorship of the Bank of Portugal was a “political decision” that, besides being “negative,” also broke a “historic commitment to reappoint the officeholder.”
“From my point of view, it was a negative decision not to reappoint the governor of the Bank of Portugal, because there was no questioning of his merit and competence, his prestige, his international status,” said the socialist leader.
Carolina Pereira Soares with Lusa | 14:43 – 24/07/2025
Questioned about the reason for not reappointing Mário Centeno, the Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, explained that the government decided to choose someone they believe to be better than Centeno to perform the role of governor.
“We chose someone who we understand is better for the position, naturally, Amaro justified. “We believe that Professor Álvaro Santos Pereira better serves the goals intended for a central bank – which is the supervisory authority and has responsibility for research, statistical responsibilities, which is part of the Eurosystem, the European Supervisory Mechanism – and these characteristics that led us to make this choice are the several ones I mentioned. He is the better choice and is the best choice, being independent: he does not come from within the bank, nor from a government,” he explained.
