Alexandra Leitão, a candidate in Sunday’s local elections leading a coalition comprising PS, Livre, BE, and PAN, made her remarks following a visit to the Arquiteto Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles Primary School in Bairro da Boavista, Benfica.
Leitão described as “inexplicable” and “a grave mistake” the fact that Carlos Moedas, the incumbent mayor of Lisbon and candidate representing the PSD, CDS-PP, and IL coalition, failed to initiate projects using the funds from the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR). She expressed hope to “still have time to determine if anything can be done.”
She emphasized the importance of investing in education, pointing out that “many schools in Lisbon need” refurbishment.
“If there is anything left of the PRR, unfortunately not utilized by Carlos Moedas, I will be there from the start, once I take office, to see with the Government if it is still possible to mobilize some funds for that,” she reiterated.
Accompanied by Fernando Medina, the socialist and former mayor of Lisbon, Alexandra Leitão visited the primary school, which also includes a kindergarten and is set to become the first public school to incorporate a nursery, according to Ricardo Marques.
Ricardo, the current president of Benfica parish and candidate for re-election, known as “the boy Ricardo” by elders, greeted everyone, noted complaints and requests, and introduced Leitão as “the future mayor of Lisbon.”
“Having a school of this quality is visionary,” praised Alexandra Leitão, addressing Fernando Medina who approved the construction of the facility.
“We wanted the school to be the best thing the neighborhood has,” recalled Fernando Medina, who led a coalition executive with the BE, an alliance being repeated in this election cycle (this time pre-elections) and repeatedly criticized by Carlos Moedas.
When asked about governing the council in coalition with BE, Medina responded: “It was quite easy, there was a program, it was agreed upon, it was written, there was a sharing of principles and measures, and from there it was about working together.”
Thus, he expressed “sadness” over Carlos Moedas’ “talk of radicalism of this, that, and the other,” accusing him of running “a polarized campaign.”
“He uses this type of campaign simply because he cannot run a campaign about Lisbon,” he criticized.
“What was done? What was created, innovated, to address the problems of the people living here,” he questioned, only to immediately answer: “Nothing was done. And nothing was done here [in Bairro da Boavista] and, sadly, also not in other places. We have toured entire areas of the city where there is a complete desert of ideas, inspiration, and drive.”
Medina stressed that “four years are enough to do a lot,” noting that the Lisbon city council is “in good financial condition,” yet it remains “incapable, inoperative,” with “a leadership lacking any inspiration, vision, ability to aggregate to solve problems and a nonexistent capacity for execution.”
The city needs “much less TikTok and a lot more works in schools,” he added.
Regarding the timing chosen by the Government to present the State Budget, Alexandra Leitão was not surprised and remarked that “some measures had already been made public, obviously with an electoral objective.”
Former Finance Minister Fernando Medina noted that the law specifies the deadline for presenting the Budget and that it was the Government’s decision to schedule local elections near this date.
Well-received in Bairro da Boavista, for which he has “a particular fondness,” Fernando Medina declined to offer advice for the final stretch of the campaign, but made “an appeal to concentrate the vote on the only political solution that can end” Moedas’ administration, reminding that the mayor is the candidate with the most votes and “there are no post-election coalitions to determine the winner.”
Sunday’s local elections see Alexandra Leitão (PS/Livre/BE/PAN), Carlos Moedas (PSD/CDS-PP/IL), João Ferreira (CDU-PCP/PEV), Bruno Mascarenhas (Chega), Ossanda Liber (New Right), José Almeida (Volt), Adelaide Ferreira (ADN), Tomaz Ponce Dentinho (PPM/PTP), and Luís Mendes (RIR) vying for the mayoralty of Lisbon.
The current municipal executive comprises seven elected officials from the “New Times” coalition – PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança, seven elected from the “More Lisbon” coalition – PS/Livre, two from CDU and one from BE.
