“I was a local politician for many years; in fact, in politics, I went from the bottom to the top, but there’s nothing nobler in politics than local government, which keeps us close to the people,” said Nuno Melo to journalists in Carvide, in the municipality of Leiria, where the CDS-PP led for two terms in the 1980s.
Considering that “it is through the size of parishes and municipalities” that politicians are known by name and “people vote often beyond the parties, although parties also have influence,” the centrist leader emphasized that “it is this community sense and recognition of people’s quality that leads to a voting choice.”
“It doesn’t make sense for us to be candidates in local elections if we are not close to the people,” he observed, stressing that “it is not grand ideological proclamations or doctrinal dogmas that usually lead people to choose in local elections.”
Regarding the candidates, Nuno Melo maintained that the party “has highly qualified and experienced people in a municipality” where it has “a lot of tradition.”
“And because of this, we are here wholeheartedly as a party that is a local government-oriented party,” he added, after hearing residents’ complaints about the lack of sidewalks.
Accompanied by the party’s head of the list for the Leiria City Council, Branca Matos (an independent councilor elected by the PSD), and other candidates, the CDS-PP president also stated that this “is a candidacy that is much more than a bet of a party or a symbol.”
According to Nuno Melo, also the Minister of Defense, “it is a gathering of people, obviously from the CDS, but many independents, people who even vote for other parties and who have joined for a project that can help change people’s lives.”
“Naturally, we want to lead, but surely we want to grow and elect local politicians who, through their mandates, help people by making a difference with their quality. I have no doubt that in Leiria we will grow, and it won’t be a small amount,” he declared.
In the 2021 local elections, Gonçalo Lopes, who is standing for re-election, led the PS list to the municipality for the first time, with the party maintaining eight mandates and the PSD three. The social-democrat councilors then became independents.
Also running for the Leiria City Council in the upcoming local elections are Sofia Carreira (PSD), Luís Paulo Fernandes (Chega), Paulo Ventura (IL), Nuno Violante (CDU), José Peixoto (Advance Leiria coalition, which includes BE, Livre, and PAN), and Nuno Henriques Barroso (ADN).
