“The devil did not come because the devil is right and the Portuguese did not return power to the right”: Costa in secret uniform

New Secretary General Pedro Nuno Santos arrived at Pavilion 1 of the Lisbon Industrial Fair (FIL) with José Luis Carneiro, the losing candidate in the direct elections. Upon entering the Congress, several party leaders made statements to journalists, including the Prime Minister himself. António Costa responded to suspicions of malfeasance that he is pursuing, in connection with the approval by the Council of Ministers on October 19, 2023 of a new legal regime for urbanization and construction.

The Public Ministry (MP) believes in the participation of the Prime Minister in the development of the law agreed upon by Thiago Silveira and former Minister of Infrastructure João Galamba in favor of the Start Campus company. “Your curiosity is identical to mine. I’m not going to talk to the justice system through the media. When the justice system wants to talk to me, I will be glad,” said Antonio Costa.

Speech parting

In his speech at the Congress, António Costa wished the “new leader” happiness and emphasized the “broad political space” represented by the PS. The outgoing secretary general believes in Pedro Nuno Santos’ ability to “continue the 50-year history” of the Socialists.

“A new generation means a new impulse,” he noted, emphasizing that the walls on the left “will never return.” The Prime Minister mentioned the PS’s “unique emotional relationship” with the Portuguese, the “new standard of governance” defined by the party, and the expansion of “social security sustainability”.

“The President did not allow us to carry out regionalization,” he complained.

Pointing to the opposition, António Costa revealed a “secret” during his speech in Congress: “The devil did not come because the devil is right and the Portuguese did not return power to the right.”

In the words of the outgoing Secretary General, “Only the PS will be more successful than the PS.” “Are there problems? We are here,” he emphasized.

The intervention ended with a warning. “They may have defeated me, but they did not defeat either me or the PS,” he emphasized.

Martha Temido

Marta Temida recalled the “difficult years that the Portuguese have overcome and the “fundamental achievements” brought by the government of António Costa, to whom she said “thank you very much.”

As for the future of the party, the former health minister and current MP promised unity around the new secretary general. With the next legislature in mind, the socialist noted that “there is only one answer – more democracy” while waging “the fight for better local public policy.”

Duarte Cordeiro

Lisbon Urban Federation President Duarte Cordeiro accused the right of having “desired and contributed” to the political crisis and argued that it could provoke the socialists but could not defeat them.

Duarte Cordeiro believed that the main meeting of the socialists took place after “a political crisis, unwanted by the socialists, but desired and supported by the right.”

“The crisis has disrupted the functioning of institutions, resulting in the shutdown of an important legislative body that is introducing fundamental reforms to improve the lives of the Portuguese people,” he said.

Pedro Nuno Santos

Social Democratic Party general secretary Pedro Nuno Santos praised the prime minister, declined to comment on the court cases and emphasized the party’s “great ability to unite.”

“Court cases are not discussed politically, as one might imagine. We must be very disciplined in defending the basic principles of the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary and the presumption of innocence,” responded Pedro Nuno Santos, who arrived at FIL Pavilion 1 a few minutes after Antonio Costa.

Jose Luis Carneiro

José Luis Carneiro, who was Pedro Nuno Santos’ opponent in the PS leadership race, said he wanted to contribute to the party’s unity based on pluralism and left a “word of thanks” to António Costa.

Upon his arrival at Pavilion 1, FIL José Luis Carneiro said that new Secretary General Pedro Nuno Santos could count on his “mobilization and commitment” to “guarantee that fundamental rights in the economy and society will not retreat and will not go backward.”

Fernando Medina

Socialist leader Fernando Medina recalled the implementation of the 2022 state budget by the then left partners, criticizing the “sweet voices” of the BE, and said that political solutions must be found after legislative ones.

Speaking to reporters at the entrance to Congress, Fernando Medina said he was “a little impressed” by statements made this morning by BE coordinator Mariana Mortagua, in which she committed to negotiating a “majority agreement on a government program” from the left.

“This is a little to create the impression that they can easily vote for BU, because then they will come to an agreement with the PS. Now history shows that this was not the case,” he said.

Augusto Santos Silva

The Chairman of Parliament refused to comment on selective news that was the result of “filtering,” pointing out that the prosecutor’s office supposedly understands that the Prime Minister is suspected of malfeasance as part of Operation Influential.

“I don’t value purported news that comes from filtering. Everyone understands this. [essa notícia] he is selective, interested,” said Augusto Santos Silva upon his arrival at the 24th National Congress of the PS, at the Lisbon International Fair (FIL).

Congress

The 24th National Congress of the PS will celebrate the testimony between António Costa and Pedro Nuno Santos. The new general secretary speaks on Saturday and Sunday, with speeches expected to be made within the party but mainly to the outside.

Another undoubted fact is the re-election of Carlos Cesar as party chairman. There is no other candidate and this is one of the first votes scheduled at the beginning of the work.