“Strong musty smell”: PS leader candidate demands “clean air” in the party

Socialist leadership candidate Daniel Adrian defended this Saturday that it is necessary to “bring fresh air” into the PS because “there is a strong musty smell here,” promising to “give space and voice” to the militants and to build the party “from the bottom up.”

With the goal of building “full democracy”, Daniel Adrian presented his candidacy for the post of PS general secretary this Saturday in the garden of the party’s national headquarters. The race to succeed António Costa, in which he will face former minister and MP Pedro Nuno Santos. and Minister José Luis Carneiro.

“The country needs a deep reform of the political party system. It’s time to rethink the way we work, open our doors to fresh ideas and new energy,” he said.

The repeat candidate, who in 2016 leads the sensitivity of the minority in the national PS bodies, needs to “open the windows and let in fresh air, because there is a strong musty smell in the house, and the PS needs to be oxygenated.”

“This candidacy aims to give space and voice to PS activists who are made up of ordinary people, but with the desire to contribute to building a decent democracy,” he said, assuring that his candidacy will “lift the country up.”

Since the time has come to focus not on the Terreiro do Paço, but on the “terreiro of the people,” Adrian wants to “give a voice to grassroots activists,” whom he considers “the voice of civil society in the party” and “the stamp of democratic guarantee.”

“It is necessary to empower the militants and the social support base of the PS by giving them decision-making power in the selection of candidates for political positions, be it at the local level or as candidates for the Assembly of the Republic,” he said, defending the separation “between the state apparatus and the party apparatus.” .

Stressing the need for deep reform of the electoral system, the PS leadership candidate warned that Portuguese citizens do not vote like most European citizens because Portugal’s lists are “closed and blocked” and do not allow MPs to vote to be directly elected.

“The Portuguese are only entitled to half the votes. The other half of the votes are in the hands of party leaders,” he complained.

But as the country looks beyond electoral and political system reform, Adrian also stressed the need to respond to the housing emergency and defended a regime pact in the sector that allows for the “harmonization of efforts” between the private, public and private sectors. cooperative sectors to a large-scale construction program.

The candidate for the post of PS Secretary General also proposes a new development paradigm for Portugal, which is a new way for the country to pay higher wages and avoid the flight of qualified personnel.

Daniel Adrian was addressed by the candidate’s representative, actor Paulo Matos, who emphasized the candidate’s consistency and the goal of “giving a voice to those who have no voice”, reporting on the “silent majority” who want to express their position and want to be heard in the party.

Considering that the candidacy of Daniel Adriano “has already won thanks to his presence”, Paulo Matos referred to the idea defended the day before by Ricardo Araújo Pereira in a program on SIC, when he stated that they would like Daniel Adriano to take part in the polls to find out whether he beat Luis Montenegro.

“I bet you do,” the comedian joked on the program.

Daniel Adrian is re-applying for the position of secretary general of the party after already doing so in 2016, 2018 and 2021, always against António Costa.

After the last PS congress, which took place in Faro in the summer of 2021, socialist sentiment, led by Daniel Adrian, elected 12% of the members of the National Commission and 15% of the Political Commission.