Outgoing Prime Minister António Costa assured this Sunday that he does not intend to “persecute” Pedro Nuno Santos after leaving government. Speaking to reporters, the socialist congratulated his successor on the results of the internal elections in the PS and called pluralism one of the “greatest advantages” of the party.
“It’s natural for everyone who comes to do things differently. And I won’t be here to persecute anyone so they don’t do something differently than me,” he explained.
Antonio Costa, who left the leadership of the Social Democratic Party after nine years, said he was confident in Pedro Nuno Santos’ ability to renew the party and confront the opposition. He even mentions that the new Socialist secretary general is “much better prepared” to govern the country than PSD leader Luis Montenegro.
The socialist also claims that he is ready to help the party in everything that is needed. “I am ready to do everything that can be useful to the party,” he assured.
After being asked about leaving a “difficult legacy” for his successor, António Costa highlighted the PS’s achievements in recent years and the party’s desire to innovate and provide new impetus.
“Once this moment is over, we will all unite to ensure that from March 10, what has been a good cycle of PS management will continue, with new energy, with new impetus,” said António Costa.
Pedro Nuno Santos was elected secretary general of the PS with 62% of the votes in direct elections held from Friday to Saturday, in which he competed with José Luis Carneiro, who came second with 36%, and Daniel Adrian, who had 1% of the votes.
António Costa was the first to arrive at the PS national headquarters and waited at the door for Pedro Nuno Santos, who arrived five minutes later. Both greeted each other with hugs. “Comrade General Secretary, how are you doing? Welcome and congratulations,” Costa said.
Following the meeting, Antonio Costa considered that the conversation “was held in the excellent tone of comrades and friends.”
At the time of his departure from the post of Secretary General of the PS, which he had led for nine years, he “as an activist of the PS made himself available for everything that is useful for the future of the PS, that is, for the future of the country.” . As prime minister, he said he was “focused and determined” to complete his mission until a new government was in place.
Her role in the next tasks of the PS “will naturally depend on the new direction and the new secretary general.”
Asked whether Pedro Nuno Santos is obliged to win the election, the still prime minister replied that “no PS leader is obliged to win any election.”
“Pedro Nuno Santos will have elections in three months. Luckily, we’re leaving because all the polls put the PS in a good starting point. But, obviously, you cannot ask someone to do in three months what others made it possible to do in a few years. Fortunately, he leaves with other advantages – his own experience, his own capital,” he added.
In his opinion, the new secretary general of the PS will also present himself in the elections with the assessment that people give to the leadership of the PS, “in what is positive,” and with “greater distance to understand what can be done better.”
Pedro Nuno Santos is showing that he is “aware of the priorities of the problems that exist in the country, of continuing the work that has been done to solve these problems, but also certainly doing things differently,” he believes.
“And I am confident that with this new energy, with this new desire, under the leadership of Pedro Nuno Santos, PS will achieve bigger and better things. And this is what the Portuguese are certainly striving for,” he said.
On the other hand, he stressed that the external situation that the next government will face “represents a difficult international context.”
“But all this means is this: we increasingly need a party that has a proven track record of good economic management, someone with experience in charge, someone who is able to build bridges with parties in the democratic field and who can give new impetus and new energy of this trajectory, which we have been successfully following since November 2015,” he said.
In these statements, he left the floor to José Luis Carneiro, considering that he had obtained “a very expressive result, well demonstrating the multiplicity of PS.”
“This is the great wealth of the PS, and this is why the PS is able to represent such a wide range of people, views on life in our country, from the democratic left to the democratic center. This is a great space for the merging of the PS and this is the great strength of the PS,” he concluded, expressing confidence that “now with more energy, more imagination, new creativity, this strength will be strengthened.”
Author: morning Post This Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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