“Six o’clock at Hotel Orquídea,” stated Miguel Albuquerque to reporters upon his arrival at the Cultural and Research Center of Funchal for the inauguration of the city’s first Art and Design Biennale.
This morning, the leader of PSD/Madeira, who won the regional legislative elections on Sunday and has headed the archipelago’s government since 2015, mentioned that an “agreement for parliamentary and governmental collaboration” with the CDS-PP is expected to be finalized this afternoon.
The PSD secured 23 seats in the regional parliament on Sunday, falling one short of an absolute majority. Thus, a coalition with CDS-PP, which elected one deputy, will help achieve that goal.
When asked by the media in Funchal if CDS-PP leader José Manuel Rodrigues would assume a ministerial role in the future government, Miguel Albuquerque enigmatically responded: “you’ll see at six.”
The PSD/Madeira president refrained from further commentary on the future of the Regional Government, suggesting patience: “everything in its own time,” emphasizing that today is focused on the agreement with the CDS-PP.
“We will be heard by the representative [of the Republic] on Friday, then we’ll form the Government,” he added, underlining that finalizing the agreement takes precedence.
He further stated, “This is an organized Government, everything must be organized.”
When asked if the new executive would be a continuation of past administrations, Miguel Albuquerque remarked, “there has never been any continuation Government.”
CDS-PP had previously governed alongside PSD, maintaining a parliamentary collaboration with the Social Democrats in the concluding legislature.
In both 2019 and 2023, the Social Democrats required parliamentary agreements, initially with CDS-PP and later with PAN, to secure a majority.
Following the early elections of 2024, the PSD (19 deputies) managed a minority government as the agreement with CDS-PP (two deputies) was insufficient for an outright majority.
Based on the preliminary official results from the Secretariat-General of the Ministry of Internal Administration, the PSD garnered 62,085 votes (43.43%) in Sunday’s early legislative regional election, obtaining 23 seats in the Regional Legislative Assembly, which is composed of 47 deputies in total.
The second most voted political group was Juntos Pelo Povo (JPP), with 30,094 votes (21.05%) and 11 parliamentary seats. The PS came in third, receiving 22,355 votes (15.64%) and eight seats.
Chega elected three deputies with 7,821 votes (5.47%), while CDS-PP secured one seat with 4,288 votes (3.00%), alongside IL, which also obtained one seat with 3,097 votes (2.71%).
Beyond these six parties that elected deputies, other candidates in the third legislative election in Madeira within approximately a year and a half included CDU (PCP/PEV), PAN, BE, Livre, Força Madeira (PTP/MTP/RIR), ADN, PPM, and Nova Direita.
The Assembly of Madeira will now consist of 23 PSD deputies, 11 from JPP, eight from PS, three from Chega, and one each from CDS-PP and IL.
The Republic’s representative in Madeira, Ireneu Barreto, announced that he will meet Friday with the six parties assured of seats in the Assembly, one fewer than the current composition, which also included a PAN representative.
[News updated at 17:12]
