“Without reaching an agreement, the PPM believes that the electoral brand Democratic Alliance should only be adopted by all three parties when competing together. Without our participation, the coalition between PSD and CDS-PP will have to adopt another name, as done in the past. This is an insurmountable political and ethical issue for us,” wrote the Secretary-General of the PPM, Paulo Estêvão, to the Secretary-General of the PSD, Hugo Soares.
In this letter, made public today, it is confirmed that the agreement fell through because the PSD refused to place a monarchist candidate in an eligible position for the anticipated legislative elections on May 18.
Regarding the name Democratic Alliance, Paulo Estêvão stated that the party was legally advised to “act preventively to prevent its unethical use, through a prior registration of the DA brand in the Constitutional Court, in association with another party, in any electoral circle,” but did not do so “convinced that PSD and CDS-PP would also not do so.”
“All parties – PSD, CDS-PP, and PPM – should refrain from using this designation in these elections. The PPM demands compliance with this ethical requirement by our historical allies and government partners in the Autonomous Region of the Azores,” he emphasized.
“They can call the now formalized coalition whatever they want. They just cannot call it the Democratic Alliance, considering that the DA is also a political heritage of the PPM,” he added.
In the letter, Paulo Estêvão notes that the PPM accepted integration into the coalition with PSD and CDS-PP last year without securing any eligible spot in the lists for the Assembly of the Republic or the Government, solely to “serve the country” and not because it is electorally weak.
“The PPM then formed part of the Government of the Autonomous Region of the Azores and its Legislative Assembly, where it has been represented, without interruption, since 2008. In other words, we are very much alive and continue to be represented in parliamentary and government institutions in our country,” they argue.
The monarchists believe that their contribution “was more significant than thought in the context of the marginal victory achieved” and demand a “total loyalty attitude towards the coalition.”
“The PPM considers the Democratic Alliance (DA) as a shared political heritage of PSD, CDS-PP, and PPM since 1979. The three parties triumphed in all national legislative elections contested together (1979, 1980, and 2024),” they emphasize, highlighting that it is a “political coalition that boasts 46 years of unbeaten status nationally” and “one of the oldest political alliances in Europe.”
On Wednesday, the Secretary-General of PSD acknowledged that the PPM was excluded from the pre-electoral coalition for the upcoming legislature due to the inability to reach an agreement on positions, pointing to the coming days for the coalition’s name announcement.
The National Council of the PSD unanimously approved the pre-electoral coalition agreement with CDS-PP for the anticipated legislative elections on May 18 in Madeira and the mainland, excluding the monarchists who had been part of the DA (Democratic Alliance) in the legislative and European elections of 2024. This time, the PPM will only be part of the coalition in the Azores.
