The leader of the PS/Madeira, Paulo Cafôfo, today expressed his confidence that the party will form a government in the region, after the early elections on May 26, and reiterated that he will be the head of the list.
“The truth is that there will be no change in this region without the Socialist Party and it’s time to turn the page and turning the page means choosing to vote for the Socialist Party,” he said, and then added: “We believe that it is possible, in these elections, to form a Socialist Party government.”
Paulo Cafôfo was speaking to journalists as part of the PS/Madeira political committee meeting, which is taking place at the party’s headquarters in Funchal.
“This is the kick-off for the elections on May 26. It’s from today that the party will establish the criteria for drawing up the list and outline the strategy for the next regional elections,” he explained.
On Wednesday, the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, dissolved Madeira’s parliament and called early elections for May 26, a move announced after hearing the nine parties with parliamentary seats in the region – PSD, PS, JPP, Chega, CDS-PP, PCP, IL, BE and PAN – and chairing the Council of State.
The government of Madeira, a PSD/CDS-PP coalition, with the parliamentary support of PAN, has been in administration since the beginning of February, after the president of the executive, the Social Democrat Miguel Albuquerque, resigned from his post after being made a defendant in a case investigating suspected corruption in the archipelago.
Paulo Cafôfo said that the PS will present a “differentiating project” with “clear and concrete ideas” to solve the problems of Madeirans, also indicating that the party will “involve all of civil society” in order to present “the best proposals”.
“As we’ve already seen, if you vote for the PSD everything will stay the same, but also if you vote for smaller parties, like the CDS, like the PAN, like Chega, like the Liberal Initiative, at the first opportunity they’ll join the PSD and everything will stay the same,” he said, adding: “The only way is to vote for the Socialist Party.”
The Socialist leader said that there is so much to be done in Madeira and that it is necessary to “breathe new air into this democracy”, arguing that it is essential to “put an end to collusion, favoritism and cronyism”, in addition to other measures such as lowering the tax burden and promoting access to health and housing.
Paulo Cafôfo reaffirmed that he will be the head of the list in the May 26 elections and guaranteed that the party is mobilized to have the “best possible performance”, also stressing that he is not afraid of internal disagreements.
