The initiative, originally scheduled for last Saturday, was postponed by the PS secretary-general due to the serious elevator accident in Lisbon’s Bairro Alto that resulted in 16 fatalities.
Coimbra has been selected by the Socialist Party (PS) for its political ‘rentrée,’ which coincides with local elections year, through the National Municipal Convention. The Convento de São Francisco will host mayors, candidates, and socialist leaders from across the country.
All attention is directed towards José Luís Carneiro’s closing speech, as he faces his first electoral challenge as PS secretary-general in the upcoming municipal elections on October 12.
Carneiro assumed PS leadership in July following Pedro Nuno Santos’s resignation after the legislative election setback that relegated PS to the third position in the parliament.
The PS leader remains confident in the party’s success in the municipal elections, even with the challenge they pose for the socialists, who secured 149 municipalities in 2021 (one in coalition with Livre) and now face 47 incumbents nearing term limits.
Before these elections, the State Budget proposal for 2026 will be submitted, with Carneiro expressing a willingness to engage in dialogue, although he stated the government’s responsibility, urging Luís Montenegro in a recent interview to choose whether to align with Chega or work with PS to enable the budget proposal.
Today’s adapted program for the National Municipal Convention will highlight the announcement of a commitment manifesto to which socialist mayors will be bound during the elections, titled “Listening and Giving a Voice to Portugal,” preceding Carneiro’s speech.
Recently, the PS leader warned that socialist candidates forming agreements with Chega-elected officials “will lose PS’s political trust.”
The PS president, Carlos César, will open the session at 09:30, joined by speeches from the PS/Coimbra federation president, João Portugal, Coimbra mayoral candidate Ana Abrunhosa, ANMP president and Matosinhos mayoral candidate Luísa Salgueiro, ANA-PS president, and Santarém mayoral candidate Pedro Ribeiro.
The PS will also honor past and present socialist presidents of the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities (ANMP) and the National Association of Parishes (ANAFRE).
At 11:00, three simultaneous discussion panels will take place, each addressing various topics.
One panel, titled “Socialist Municipalities: Proximity that Transforms,” will discuss housing, safety, mobility, public spaces, green transition, and digital transition, featuring speakers like Lisbon mayoral candidate Alexandra Leitão, Porto candidate Manuel Pizarro, Aveiro candidate Alberto Souto, and former government official Isabel Oneto.
Another panel, “Socialist Municipalities: People at the Center of Public Policies,” will include former Minister Fernando Medina, Sintra candidate Ana Mendes Godinho, Coimbra candidate Ana Abrunhosa, Setúbal candidate Fernando José, Bragança candidate Isabel Ferreira, and Évora candidate Carlos Zorrinho.
The topic “PS Identity Marks in Local Power” will be discussed in a separate room by university professor Rui Pena Pires, Baião incumbent Paulo Pereira, JS secretary-general Sofia Pereira, and Socialist Women president Elza Pais.
