The president of the Liberal Initiative, Rui Rocha, refused this Sunday to draw lessons and conclusions about his leadership and the role of government after the statutes he proposed were rejected on Saturday.
“I do not believe that any conclusions can be drawn from the statutory debate in terms of leadership, management or candidates who will lead the party,” Rui Rocha said today upon arrival at the VIII National Congress of Illinois, which ends today in Santa Maria da Feira (Aveiro district).
On the other hand, Rui Rocha stressed that the internal opposition’s proposal “was rejected by a large majority of those present.”
“I don’t believe the legislative debate matters to either side, but if it does matter, it’s in terms of defeating the proposal that was presented and defeated for the most part at this convention,” he said.
Rui Rocha also refused to open a new statutory debate process before the end of his term, because he did not believe that “liberals, as well as journalists, have enough energy to participate in many more meetings of this kind.”
The 8th National Congress of the IL ends today in Santa Maria da Feira with a vote on the political program and the intervention of leader Rui Rocha, a day after he failed to approve the new statutes.
On Saturday, it was the failure of the two proposals under discussion to obtain a qualified majority of two-thirds that forced IL to leave Santa Maria da Feira with the same statutes it had adopted, after a full day of presenting and discussing the two views.
The National Council’s proposals, which affect the leadership and were put forward by the working group, were put to the vote, as well as a proposal from a group of internal opponents, including former presidential candidate Tiago Maiao Gonçalves and former Liberal President Miguel Ferreira da Silva.