“Initially, and without committing to anything, because we also need to discuss and review, I would say it will be difficult for us to support budgets from this executive,” stated Alexandra Leitão at the inauguration ceremony of Lisbon’s municipal bodies for the 2025-2029 term, held at the Gare Marítima de Alcântara.
Leading the socialist councilors in Lisbon’s municipal executive, Alexandra Leitão emphasized that the PS will be “a rigorous, very demanding, loyal opposition, as always.”
In the previous 2021-2025 term, the four municipal budgets under the leadership of social-democrat Carlos Moedas, who governed without an absolute majority – a situation that remains in the newly started mandate – were approved thanks to the abstention of the PS councilors, despite opposition votes from PCP, Livre, BE, and Cidadãos Por Lisboa (elected by the PS/Livre coalition).
Regarding a potential alliance between the PSD/CDS-PP/IL candidacy and the party Chega, socialist Alexandra Leitão declined to comment on “rumors or things that have not yet happened.”
“We will wait to see how this new cycle, with new power correlations, evolves both in the City Council and in the Municipal Assembly,” declared the PS councilor.
In the October 12 elections, social-democrat Carlos Moedas was re-elected as president of the Lisbon City Council through the “Por ti, Lisboa” candidacy – PSD/CDS-PP/IL, which obtained 41.69% of the votes and secured eight seats, one more than the seven achieved in 2021, remaining one short of an absolute majority, which would require the election of nine of the 17 members comprising the capital’s executive.
The second most voted candidacy was “Viver Lisboa” – PS/Livre/BE/PAN, led by socialist Alexandra Leitão, receiving 33.95% of the votes and electing six councilors, followed by the party Chega, which secured 10.10% of the votes and two seats, and CDU (PCP/PEV coalition), which got 10.09% of the votes and elected one councilor, missing a second seat by one vote difference from Chega.
In the 2021-2025 term, the municipal executive included seven members from the “Novos Tempos” coalition (PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança), seven from the “Mais Lisboa” coalition (PS/Livre), two from the CDU, and one from the BE. Chega did not elect any councilors in 2021.
