The XIII BE National Assembly, which will elect the new leadership, will start this Saturday in Lisbon with a start dominated by the farewell speech of Katarina Martins, the presentation and discussion of the contested proposals and speeches of the delegates.
The 654 delegates will be able to choose between two proposals: A, led by MP Mariana Mortagua and many names from the current leadership, and E, which brings together critics and whose representative at the convention is former MP Pedro Soares.
After an unprecedented invasion of the Porto area in 2021, the XIII National Assembly returns on Saturday and Sunday to the Casal Vistoso Pavilion in Lisbon under the motto “Taking the Country Seriously” in which a new cycle of leadership will begin. the problems of the absolute majority of the PS and the reduced parliamentary bench after the defeat of the last legislature in the elections.
With work due to start at 11:00 a.m., the most anticipated moment of the blockbuster morning meeting will be Katarina Martins’ opening speech, which will mark the end of her era as party leader.
Before the lunch break, delegates will discuss and vote on amendments to the bylaws, and early in the day there will be presentations, debates and opinions on political orientation proposals.
On proposal A, entitled “One strength, many struggles”, according to the information provided to the Lusa agency, it will be Mariana Mortagua who will make this presentation.
Proposal A, also signed by Katarina Martins, who despite leaving the leadership will remain in the National Bureau and the Political Commission, as she informed Luce, managed to elect 81% of the delegates (530 in total) who will vote. and must win this convention.
Under the motto “Multiple Block for Left Alternative – A Challenge We Can Conquer!” and with 14% of the delegates, proposal E will, as expected, be presented by Pedro Soares, whose representatives include the historic Mario Tome.
After the submission of proposals, it will be time for a political speech at the main assembly, waiting as usual to hear names such as founders Francisco Luz, Luis Fazenda and Fernando Rosas or MEP Marisa Matias, among other prominent names in the party. .
At 17:00, polling stations will open, which close only the next morning, for elections to national bodies, the National Bureau and the Commission on Rights.
In an interview with Lusa during the farewell to a decade of leadership, Katarina Martins left warnings that António Coste urgently needs to make deep changes in his government so that the legislature can go through, and echoed the criticism of the absolute majority. PS.
In terms of succession, still the leader sees Mariana Mortagua as more prepared and more experienced than she was when she took over command of the Blocs, given that the party is recovering from a heavy defeat in the 2022 legislative snap elections of the year.
Katarina Martins also said that after 14 years as an MP, she will leave Parliament at the end of this legislative session, refusing to open the game about the future and saying only that she will rest during this time.