BS leader Katarina Martins on Tuesday expressed “absolute calm” that there are people “with ability, strength and training” to replace her in office, awaiting a congress with “party unity decisions” scheduled for May.
On Tuesday Katarina Martins gave a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Lisbon to announce that she will not be a leader candidate at the BS National Congress to be held May 27 and 28 in Lisbon.
“As for the future, I must also tell you that if I can make this decision, it is because I am absolutely calm, knowing that there are many people in Block de Esquerda who are capable, strong and prepared to take on himself these functions and that “Therefore I know that we will definitely have a congress that is as well attended as it is capable of creating solutions for unity in the party,” he answered only the question of possible successors to this post.
As for her continuation as an MP after the May meeting, the BC leader said: “It is not an issue at the moment. I have a mandate, I accept it.”
Asked about a possible candidacy for the next European Championships, Katarina Martins reiterated that on Tuesday she had announced “what the moment calls for”.
“The moment has come when the coordination of the Blok should be taken over by someone else. I am not announcing anything more or less than this with peace of mind having done the best I could during this period knowing with peace of mind that this Tuesday the bloc has been widely recognized for its consistency and also has many people of all abilities and preparation,” he repeated.
About the possibility of joining the lists with some party body, for example, the National Council, even after withdrawing from the agreement, the blockist attributed this decision to the preparation of the congress, which she will do “in a team” with her comrades.
“I announce my decision when we start the work of preparing the congress, out of loyalty to everyone in the Bloc who organizes this congress, and that all proposals and lists that run for the board have all the information they need,” he began to explain in of his speech.
Katarina Martins recalled that “in the 10 years” during which she carried out the task of coordinating the Bloc – initially with Joao Semedo, who insisted on “remembering and paying tribute to this journey”, “victories and defeats” were achieved. .
“Heavy electoral defeat a year ago and electoral victories like in 2015 and 2019, in which we achieved and maintained the best results ever in the Bloc,” he recalled, also recalling “victories and defeats also in movements, in laws, in social struggle. “.
This decade, in the words of the still leader BE, “was an exceptional time.”
“We ousted the rightists from the government, in 2015 we imposed conditions that I announced to the prime minister in a televised debate, PS was forced to sign a written agreement, the country breathed a sigh of relief. Cunning was the principle of respect,” he stressed.
However, despite all the successes and “much more to be done”, the absolute majority achieved in the early legislative elections “showed that the PS never went down this path and is now even reversing some dodgy measures” as well as abolishing “income from those who work and worked.
“The reasons for the turn to the right, which António Costa imposed on the country, are visible,” he fired.
Katarina Martins has been at the forefront of the party’s fortunes since November 2012, at that time in partnership with João Semedo when they were elected coordinators of the Bloc de Esquerdes, and then in an unprecedented “two-headed” leadership, a model abandoned two years later. , at the next national convention in 2014.
That year, the party was led by six coordinators: Pedro Soares, Pedro Filipe Soares, Joana Mortagua, Adelino Fortunato, Nuno Moniz, and Catarina Martins, who was then a BE representative.
At the big meeting of the party in 2016, the position of press secretary ceased to exist and the figure of the national coordinator, held by Katarina Martins, was renewed.
At the XI National Congress in November 2018, the list of Catarina Martins, Pedro Filipe Soares and Marisa Matias, presented consistently and without major changes, was successfully elected and won 70 out of 80 seats in the National Council.
At the last major meeting of the party in May 2021, the list of the current leadership won 54 of the 80 seats in the BC National Bureau, which has become more divided, losing 16 seats compared to 2018.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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