The leader of the Liberal Initiative, Mariana Leitão, emphasized a grassroots approach at the National Autarchic Meeting, challenging the four hundred attendees by saying, “We don’t have heavy machinery, we don’t have networks of favors, we don’t have decades of cronyism,” but instead, “we go to the streets, the squares, the villages, the cities, speaking passionately and closely.”
Leitão encouraged liberal mayors by stating, “This is your hour. Do not wait for space to be given: seize it,” without being “intimidated by old party machines,” but demonstrating that “the energy of freedom is unstoppable.”
The liberal leader highlighted the desire for councils to become “engines of development, not machines of cronyism,” yet she avoided discussing the party’s specific goals for the October 12 local elections.
The Liberal Initiative is running in 88 municipal chambers, 59 independently, and has submitted candidacies for 90 Municipal Assemblies (29 in coalition) and 558 Parish Assemblies (368 in coalition).
The preferred partner for the elections is the PSD, yet in Faro and Lisbon, the Liberal Initiative is part of a coalition for already social-democratic chambers.
Today’s session included several municipal candidates, among them the heads of the lists for Sintra and Faro (Marco Almeida and Cristóvão Norte, from PSD), though former IL leader Rui Rocha, a candidate in Braga, was absent.
In her speech, Leitão urged candidates to realize that their “role in this campaign is not just to ask for votes: it’s to show why that vote changes people’s lives,” stressing that “being liberal is not a distant theory.”
She expressed her desire for candidates to communicate that “freedom works, is practical, and useful,” but for this message to resonate, they must understand that “this campaign is not about parties, it’s about people.”
“We are here for them. That’s why our message must be clear, simple, direct, with no frills, no codes, no excuses,” she stated, encouraging the audience to listen to public grievances.
Leitão declared, “We will not accept waste in useless works, perks, or privileges for the usual suspects. Every euro of tax must return to the people in better, more efficient, and closer public services,” advocating for “lighter, more agile, and transparent councils that create conditions to attract investment, generate employment, and retain talent.”
At the beginning and end of the meeting, attendees sang happy birthday to Mariana Leitão, celebrating her 43rd birthday, where she informally wished for a good result in the October 12 elections.
