“I don’t want anyone to think I’m running for anything, though several mayors have suggested it, and I haven’t closed the door completely, despite initially saying no,” said the president of the Figueira da Foz Municipality in Coimbra.
Asked about this possibility, the mayor, beginning his second consecutive term elected by the PSD/CDS-PP coalition, reiterated that he hasn’t closed the door but “doesn’t feel inclined.”
“Honestly [I don’t feel inclined], I prefer to remain as I am,” emphasized Santana Lopes to journalists at the end of today’s Figueira da Foz municipal session.
The Figueira da Foz president mentioned that some mayors from the Central region considered it important for him to be the ANMP president for the region, an argument he was receptive to.
“I didn’t close the door as I would to other possibilities,” he admitted, without detailing further, indicating that he has been approached but hopes “there will be someone else.”
In the municipal elections on October 12, the PSD won the largest number of mayoralties, regaining the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities (ANMP) that belonged to the PS since 2013, and triumphed in Portugal’s five largest municipalities.
The Social Democrats, running independently or in coalitions, secured victory in 136 municipalities as opposed to 128 for the PS, whereas in 2021 they had won 114 compared to 149 for the Socialists.
