CDS-PP Madeira is open to disappointed people and asks them not to vote for populists

The leadership candidate of the CDS-PP/Madeira said this Sunday that the party is open to all “the dissatisfied and the disillusioned,” calling on them not to turn their vote into “a factor of dangerous radical divisionism or populist demagoguery.”

José Manuel Rodrigues spoke at a press conference to present the global strategy movement that will lead to the Madeira Centrist Congress on April 13 and 14 in the parish of Ilha, the oldest in the region, in the municipality of Santana (north of Madeira). ).

“SDS will compete in the next regional elections on May 26 with its own lists, aware of the reality of this political crisis, but with its own government project, based on its usual ideas, on the proposals it defends and represents. new solutions to new problems faced by the people of Madeira and Porto Santos,” he emphasized.

The former CDS-PP/Madeira president, who served from 1997 to 2015, added that the party’s project is “open to everyone who is unhappy and disappointed in other parties,” leaving the message: “I don’t want to make your vote a factor in dangerous radical divisionism or populist demagoguery, without responsibility and trust.”

José Manuel Rodrigues, on the other hand, stressed that the party is not futuristic and does not work “for electoral results that depend on the will of the people,” guaranteeing, however, that the CDS-PP “knows where it wants to go.” “.

“We want a strong CDS with a decisive power in ensuring the stability and governance of Madeira,” he stressed, without wanting, however, to set limits on the number of deputies who will be elected in the elections.

Asked if he would once again support a possible PSD leader, the centrist, current president of the Madeira Legislative Assembly, replied that “it is inevitable that there will not be an absolute majority” and insisted that “the PSD will be a factor in the stability and governance of the Forest.”

In the 2025 local elections, the party intends to “renew the visible management of the municipality of Santana and the good governance of the parish councils of Ilha, Santana, Fajão da Ovelha and Pol do Mar”, as well as to “strengthen its presence in other municipalities and other parishes in the archipelago” .

The centrist also pointed out that the coalitions that include the CDS-PP in the municipal chambers of Funchal, Porto Santo, São Vicente and Ribeira Brava “should be analyzed at the appropriate time and in the party’s advisory bodies.”

José Manuel Rodrigues also highlighted a number of centrist strategic goals, including increased autonomy, reform of the regional political system, lower taxes, provision of conditions for youth and protection of the elderly, as well as a guarantee of health care and decent housing for all Madeirans.

José Manuel Rodríguez is the only candidate for the post of party leader who put forward the strategic movement “For the Future”.

Lydia Albornoz even put forward her candidacy, but due to the recognition of the signatures as invalid, she was forced to withdraw from the “race.”

The SDP and CDS-PP merged after the 2019 regional legislative elections, after the Social Democrats lost their absolute majority. In the Madeira legislative assemblies in September 2023, they ran together and won, but were unable to obtain an absolute majority for one term, so the PSD negotiated a parliamentary understanding with the sole PAN deputy.

Following the political crisis caused by a judicial investigation in which Madeira’s chief executive, the Social Democrat Miguel Albuquerque, was accused and which led to his resignation and the fall of the regional government, the PSD broke off its coalition with the SDS-PP and declared that it intended to go alone in the elections .