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Rocha leaves IL with “total autonomy” in political, strategic, and financial matters.

At the 10th National Convention of the Liberal Initiative (IL) in Alcobaça, the former leader of IL reviewed his two-year tenure at the party’s helm, highlighting proposals introduced in healthcare, housing, taxes, and state reform.

In electoral terms, Rui Rocha emphasized that under his leadership, IL achieved “representation in all parliaments” and secured the “best results ever” in the European elections.

“These results, and the path we have taken, allow IL to establish its strategic vision for the future with total political, strategic, and financial autonomy,” he asserted.

Nonetheless, Rui Rocha acknowledged that in the last legislative elections, he had set two objectives — to increase the vote share and “strengthen IL’s influence in governance” — noting that neither was achieved, with the party consistently receiving around 5% in three consecutive elections.

“Therefore, at this moment, after three elections at 5%, there are only two possibilities: either the ceiling is the party or the ceiling is the president. The only way to know is for the president to step aside and let the party prove it is worth much more than those 5%,” he stated.

Discussing his resignation from the party’s presidency on May 31, Rui Rocha described it as a “political decision” rather than a personal one, also mentioning that criticisms from “relevant voices” within the party about the electoral results — alluding to João Cotrim Figueiredo — were “absolutely irrelevant in that decision-making process.”

Rui Rocha addressed internal criticisms labeling him as a “moderate” leader — referencing accusations of excessive closeness to PSD — affirming that during his presidency, he was not “moderate in defending the party’s interests.”

“When I rejected pre-electoral coalitions and refused to enter the government, because I don’t trade ideas for positions… We were strongly pressured to form an electoral coalition that offered us whatever we wanted, and I said no. I was never moderate in defending the party’s interests,” he said.

Rui Rocha stated that he would not want IL to have “10, 15, 30 deputies to, the next day,” approve a 49% privatization of TAP’s capital, alluding to the ongoing government-led process of privatizing the airline.

“If António Costa, if Pedro Nuno Santos are the faces of this ruinous deal we are talking about, the faces of that ruinous deal are also José Luís Carneiro, Luís Montenegro, and André Ventura, who want to keep everything the same,” he stressed.

After making this assessment, Rui Rocha offered three suggestions for the party’s future, starting by asking to “combat chattiness,” referring to the “annoying members of the party” who make “15 consecutive messages in chats.”

Another suggestion from Rui Rocha is for the party to equally fight against “Sebastianism,” referring to requests from IL members for former leaders, like Carlos Guimarães Pinto or João Cotrim Figueiredo, to re-run for party presidency during leadership changes.

“I will contribute to fighting Sebastianism by publicly declaring here that I am not available for any role in party bodies, activities, or anything else unless a disaster happens, which I neither foresee nor desire,” he said.

In conclusion, Rui Rocha stated that as a former leader, he will seek to “respect the party’s interests,” aiming to restrain his criticism, and will be ready “for the necessary battles,” especially those with no “personal gain.”

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