The President of the Regional Government of Madeira, Miguel Albuquerque, stated that the victory in the Madeira elections, where he was just one seat shy of an outright majority, “surprised and did not surprise” him.
“On one hand, it was a result, from my perspective, that was in line with what I was sensing on the streets. Citizens desired stability; they were tired and fed up with this bubble, this radicalism from political parties. They have their lives, businesses, jobs, and they seek stability. Most importantly, they want to continue the path of economic growth and unemployment reduction […],” Miguel Albuquerque said during the Grande Entrevista on RTP. He added that citizens want a government to rule for the next four years and that “after four years,” citizens evaluate and make “a judgment on governmental practice.”
After Madeirans have gone to the polls three times in a year and a half, Miguel Albuquerque highlighted that in the regional elections held last Sunday, “there was an increase in voter turnout.”
“This idea of minimizing the analytical capacity and intelligence of the common citizen is wrong. People know what they want and what they don’t want,” he stated.
Regarding potential voter fatigue, given the close timing of the elections, the President of the Regional Government of Madeira noted that “people were determined to put the house in order” and that “in a democracy, it is up to the voters to put the house in order.”
“They are somewhat fed up with this populist talk […]. They want political decision-makers to focus on what is crucial for their future and their families,” he emphasized.
He further added: “There is an illusion that this demagogic and populist discourse, which has prevailed in Europe and also in Portugal, will have a positive outcome. I believe it will end poorly. Usually, what populists want is to create a desert so that later, a savior appears to put the house in order. That’s what happened in the 1930s with the rise of authoritarianism and fascism, and now the discourse is the same,” stressed Miguel Albuquerque.
It is worth recalling that the PSD won the regional elections in Madeira last Sunday, and on Tuesday, Miguel Albuquerque’s party and the CDS/Madeira defined a post-electoral agreement that ensures a parliamentary majority in the region. This agreement includes the integration of the leader of the archipelago’s Christian Democrats into the executive.
