With less than three weeks until the deadline for submitting all candidatures for the local elections, it is evident that both Right and Left are heavily focused on forming coalitions.
Across Portugal, parties are uniting in an effort to secure more municipalities in a scenario that has remained politically unchanged for two decades: the leadership of the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities (ANMP) has been held by the socialists for twenty years.
In fact, there are 27 municipalities that have never changed political party since 1976, the first elections after April 25. Among these, the PSD leads with twelve municipalities that have always been “orange”, followed by the PS with nine and the communists with six.
Faced with a challenging situation, the PSD and CDS are once again jointly contesting several municipalities, with the Liberal Initiative also frequently participating in these agreements. On the Left, alliances are formed between the PS, BE, and Livre, and sometimes only between the BE and Livre in certain municipalities. PAN oscillates between Right and Left, and parties like Volt, Nós, Cidadãos, PPM (People’s Monarchist Party), and MPT (Earth Party) are also joining candidatures.
Left-Wing Coalitions
In Lisbon, the candidacy of former PS parliamentary leader Alexandra Leitão is supported by a coalition of the entire Left, excluding the PCP, which refused pre-election coalitions and fielded its own candidate, councilor João Ferreira.
Thus, PS, Livre, BE, and PAN are joining the ‘Viver Lisboa’ coalition supporting Alexandra Leitão in an attempt to unseat the current mayor Carlos Moedas.
The same coalition strategy is repeated in Ponta Delgada with ‘Unidos por Ponta Delgada,’ attempting to take a municipality that has always been social-democrat, except for a term from 1989 to 1993, when socialists jointly won with centrists.
In Porto, negotiations did not succeed, and each party is pursuing its own candidacy. The PS is fielding Manuel Pizarro, the former Health Minister in António Costa’s government, who is running against another former minister, Pedro Duarte.
In Sintra, the PS is teaming up with Livre to support a campaign against “setbacks” led by Ana Mendes Godinho, the former Minister of Labor, Solidarity, and Social Security.
In Oeiras, where the PSD chose to support Isaltino Morais, the PS and PAN are joining forces, while Livre, BE, and Volt are maintaining their coalition in the municipality.
In Loures, where the socialist mayor has recently faced severe criticism (due to the controversy surrounding the demolition of the Talude neighborhood), Livre, Bloco, and PAN are running together. The same is happening in Cascais, where they assume a coalition “on the right side of history,” and also in Gaia, where BE and Livre are competing together in a campaign aimed at “bringing together and broadening the left to include everyone.”
Right-Wing Coalitions
Starting in the capital, the PSD has again announced support for the current Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas. This time, he is running under the ‘Por Ti, Lisboa’ coalition, which includes PSD, CDS-PP, and IL.
In the 2021 elections, when Carlos Moedas defeated the socialist candidate and then mayor of Lisbon Fernando Medina, the right ran with the ‘Novos Tempos’ coalition, including PSD, CDS-PP, MPT, PPM, and Aliança.
In Porto, the formula is repeated. PSD, IL, and CDS-PP are contesting under the ‘O Porto Somos Nós’ coalition led by Pedro Duarte, a former Minister of Parliamentary Affairs in Luís Montenegro’s first government.
Meanwhile, the current Mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira, is considering another presidential run, this time for the Republic.
In Vila Nova de Gaia, Luís Filipe Menezes is supported by a tripartite coalition in a bid for a municipality he led from 1997 to 2013. The former PSD president also contested the Porto municipality in 2013 but did not win.
In Gondomar, CDS-PP drops from the coalition due to failed negotiations with PSD, and social democrats and liberals run together. In Braga, IL falls out of the coalition and decides to field its own candidate, former party leader Rui Rocha.
Moving south, Right-Wing coalitions remain but start to include more parties, particularly those without parliamentary seats.
The ‘Juntos Somos Coimbra’ coalition includes PSD, CDS-PP, PPM, Volt, MPT, and Nós, Cidadãos. This coalition has a proven track record, having won the 2021 Coimbra elections.
In Cascais, the classic PSD and CDS-PP combination continues to lead the municipality, as they have for twenty years. In Sintra, PAN is allied with PSD and IL. In Faro, the coalition includes PSD, CDS-PP, IL, PAN, and MPT.
Left and Right Coalitions are already forming, and more are likely to emerge by August 18, the deadline for submitting final candidacy lists. The elections are scheduled for October 12.
