José Manuel Bolieiro expressed his positive view on the political project undertaken during the national legislative elections in 2024 with the PSD/CDS-PP/PPM coalition and indicated a similar perspective for 2025. However, he emphasized his respect for the autonomy of the national bodies of the respective parties.
Today, the PSD and CDS-PP announced in daily newspapers that the coalition on the mainland and Madeira will be termed “AD – Aliança Democrática – PSD/CDS,” while in the Azores, the previous formula “PSD/CDS/PPM” will be retained.
In the Azores, the three parties competed together in the 2024 regional elections and support the regional government led by Social Democrat José Manuel Bolieiro.
Concerning the national decision, which saw the PPM leave the AD but remain in the Azores, Bolieiro stated this reflects the “autonomy of decision by the national bodies” as opposed to those in the Autonomous Region of the Azores.
“I have often stated that our strategic options adhere to our autonomy as party structures in the Azores. This time it happened with PPM. The regional structure of PPM has a clear affirmation in our joint project of PSD/CDS and PPM to assert, as we do, a governmental alternation in the Azores and now a successful political governance project,” he said.
Nationally, “this is not the option,” he pointed out, while noting that it “does not interfere at all” with the political project in the Azores, where the PSD/CDS-PP/PPM coalition supports the regional executive.
Bolieiro does not believe that the PPM’s exit from the AD on the mainland and Madeira will affect the electoral results of the legislative elections, asserting that the people, “as always, wise, will know how to decide.”
The PSD/Azores leader, who also heads the Regional Government, further stated that the Azores maintain the PSD/CDS-PP/PPM coalition with assurance of stability and reliability in the political project, through “a lot of dialogue and consensus.”
On Wednesday evening, the National Councils of the PSD and CDS-PP approved a pre-electoral coalition between the two parties for the anticipated May 18 elections, excluding the PPM, unlike the legislative and European elections of 2024.
On Thursday, the PPM threatened to file an injunction early next week to prevent the use of the “Aliança Democrática” designation by the PSD/CDS-PP coalition, alleging they were being “severely harmed.”
The monarchists disclosed that before failed negotiations with Social Democrats and Centrists for a new coalition for the upcoming legislative elections, they had warned the two parties of the possibility of registering the “Aliança Democrática” brand in coalition with another party but chose not to do so for ethical reasons.
In today’s newspaper announcement, PSD and CDS-PP confirmed their decision to contest in an electoral coalition across all mainland electoral districts, the Autonomous Region of Madeira, and for European and non-European electoral districts using the name “AD — Aliança Democrática — PSD/CDS,” along with both parties’ symbols.
In a separate announcement, PSD, CDS-PP, and PPM stated they would contest together in the Autonomous Region of the Azores under the designation “PSD/CDS/PPM.”
On Wednesday evening, the PSD Secretary-General, Hugo Soares, argued that “from a legal, formal, constitutional standpoint,” there would be no issue with both parties using the AD acronym.
