Pedro Nuno Santos argues that the lists of PS deputies combine the protection of governance and renewal

The PS general secretary noted on Tuesday that the PS candidate lists “had only three votes against” out of 86 voters, and said they combined protecting the government’s legacy with party renewal.

Pedro Nuno Santos defended this position following a meeting of the National Political Commission of the PS, at which the lists of candidates for deputies from this party were approved with 84% of votes in favor.

In a conversation with journalists, the Socialist leader denied that the process of forming lists of candidates for PS deputies for the early legislative elections on March 10 was difficult.

“The compilation of lists of parliamentary candidates always has some tension, with inputs and outputs, which is normal. There was an overwhelming majority in favor of approving the lists: out of 86 voters, only six were against. It was overwhelmingly in favor. lists,” he said.

Asked about the incidents recorded in the last few days, such as that of the doctor and socialist leader Álvaro Beles, who resigned as head of the Vila Real list, Pedro Nuno Santos tried to de-dramatize the situation, retorting that “there are always differences.” in the process of compiling lists of candidates for deputies – and this is irrelevant.”

“What is important is that we have lists that can combine renewal with experience: 50% of the heads of the PS lists are newcomers. Some continue to work, some are members of the government,” he said.

Pedro Nuno Santos later noted that the country experienced a break in the work of the legislature, in which the PS had an absolute majority in parliament. And in this context, he justified the presence of several government members as heads of lists in constituencies.

“There are members of the government who have done excellent work that we want to continue. We balance protecting the legacy of this government with the need to provide new impetus,” he said. However, according to the PS leader, his party has invested “in a combination of competence, experience and renewal.”

“In the pluralism that is CoP, we should be able to create lists that reflect that pluralism. And this effort is on display. There was never any intention to break with the past. We want to honor the entire history of PS. “, he emphasized.

Here, in the final part of his statement, he went a little further, saying that “those who expected a break” in this process of forming lists of parliamentary candidates were mistaken.

“All nine PS leaders have taken over the entire history of the party, and we have always managed to reconcile the existing majority in the party. This is not a sign of weakness, but of strength. We are a party of stability and predictability,” he said. insisted.

Pedro Nuno Santos also stated that PS “has the appropriate range” in terms of recruitment potential. “We will have a discussion forum [do programa eleitoral] and then they can test the ability of the PS to engage independents in discussion, debate, deliberation and program building,” he said, before attacking the SDP in terms of recruiting independents.

“We don’t invent fake independents. In the PS, independents, when they work with us, end up joining the party,” he said. Regarding the PSD, Pedro Nuno Santos said that the PS is represented by “men and women with experience, who know what it means to govern and have the appropriate qualifications.”

“This is a note that sets us apart from our main adversary, who does not have employees with the same level of experience. This is very important because the times we face are complex, which requires governments and politicians to be experienced, competent, proven and obviously with new blood,” he reinforced.

Regarding the absence of leader Daniel Adrian, who initially ranked fifth on the list of parliamentary candidates from the Coimbra circle but was later withdrawn on Tuesday, the PS general secretary said: “The processes of compiling lists are always difficult.”

“A lot of people are leaving and there are a lot of people who want to come. It is normal for disagreements and even some tension to arise. There must be PS’s ability to deal with this and move forward.” “There is continuity in the PS with new impetus. There are people who continue, and there are those who do not,” he added.