The manifesto unites 500 people from different walks of life in support of the CDU.

The “Work of Hope” manifesto, promoted by the Community Initiative movement, collected the signatures of 500 figures from different sectors of Portuguese society in support of the CDU in the legislative elections on March 10.

Among the 500 subscribers, for example, are writers Mario de Carvalho and Rui Zinck, musicians Valete and Calu, university professors Carlos Neto and Andre Carmo or researchers Manuela Ribeiro Sánchez and Elsa Peralta. The document, available online, states that the promoters are not members of the PCP or PEV and do not share all the positions of these parties, but emphasize the “importance and seriousness of their proposals.”

“In the context of the left, this is very important. Especially given the possibility – which we obviously want to resist and fight – of the emergence of a right-wing majority in the next Assembly of the Republic, which, as we already know, will never become a majority without the presence of the neo-fascists of Chegi, which represents a very important challenge for all democrats and all , who we see on April 25,” historian (and follower) Manuel Loff tells Lusa.

The document was opened for subscription between January and February and, according to a university professor and former PKP MP, it “unexpectedly” received a “wide range” of support. For Manuel Loffa, who was one of the initiators of the initiative, it is “a source of pride” that it has included immigrants in addition to people from education, culture, art or industry.

Manuel Loff refuses to consider the manifesto, called “The Work of Hope”, based on a phrase from the poet Manuel Gusmão, as a response to numerous polls, countering that the initiative was launched at the beginning of the year and earlier. they started polls known. Recent public opinion surveys point to the decline of the CDU ahead of the 2022 legislative elections, in which it won six seats.

“Polls in Portugal have traditionally had very low reliability,” he argues, outlining a negative analysis of these public opinion surveys: “In general, the polls did not reflect the representation of the CDU. I’m not going to make any comments.” political speech, but it’s really an attitude: polls don’t matter to us. What matters is how we perceive the mood of the left, especially around the CDU.”

The announcement of this initiative comes in the same week as another petition from about fifty union members and former union leaders was announced, also calling for a vote in the Unitary Democratic Coalition (CDU, which brings together PCP and PEV).

When asked whether this circumstance reflects real fears that the communists may lose their voice in parliament, Manuel Loff assures that this scenario is far from being realized. Above all, it emphasizes the “show of support” from subscribers and ensures that none of the messages were aimed at “helping the CDU not disappear.”

“This is absolutely not our point of view. Many other people may be trying to perpetuate the idea – which is unrealistic – that the CDU is in danger of parliamentary extinction,” he notes, concluding: “As a citizen and activist of the Commons Initiative, I am particularly proud and even in some cases surprised representation of all these names in Portuguese society as a whole.”