PS and Livre are accessible to leftists in local government

This Thursday, PS and Livre expressed their willingness to reach an understanding with the left in local government, but stressed that it was necessary to deepen the dialogue to understand the feasibility of an agreement, especially around a common programme.

“It was clear to both sides that both sides are willing to continue negotiations and possibly, or perhaps, find solutions to work together, especially in the local elections that will begin in Lisbon,” PS Secretary General Pedro Nuno Santos said after meeting Livre at the party’s headquarters in Lisbon.

The Socialist leader stressed that “there are possibilities” for preparing common lists in local authorities, but stressed that “this presupposes all the work that has not been done, which will determine the possibility or impossibility of reaching mutual understanding.”

“It concerns the program – ideas for cities or municipalities – and people, candidates,” he said, adding that “there is still no final result” regarding the agreements, but “there is an opportunity to continue negotiations.”

Asked whether the PS is open to such an understanding as to include other left-wing forces beyond Livre, Pedro Nuno Santos replied: “It is clear that the PS is capable of negotiating with all the political forces of the left.”

In turn, Livre co-speaker Rui Tavares stressed that at the local level, both parties agreed that “negotiations must be deepened, they will be repeated and continued with other parties, with the mobilization of party structures.” also at the local, and not just national level.”

After meeting with all the left-wing parties with seats in parliament, Rui Tavares stressed that they all have “very similar diagnoses about what is wrong” in Portuguese cities and “what the right-wing administrations have done wrong.”

“This is an important starting point. Once this is verified, I think everyone will agree that we need to look deeper into how we can change things. Then the way will open up and we will be able in the future (…) to present programs that mobilize our society and show that there is another, more progressive, more social and more ecological way of doing things,” he said.

Rui Tavares said the meetings were a “start” and expressed his desire for left-wing parties to be able to mobilize people who want to talk about cities.

“If we can do this in a comprehensive manner with other left parties, with a common program, it will be even better,” he said.

In statements to journalists, the two leaders considered it premature to talk about names – after journalists pressed whether former minister Duarte Cordeiro, who was present at the meeting, would be a good name to lead the left-wing candidate in Lisbon – but Pedro Nuno Santos stressed that he intends to choose “the best candidates”.

Rui Tavares said the parties were still “far from discussing names,” despite the fact that he had “good, warm relations, as well as a certain ideological affinity with the people” he met today.

The leaders of the two parties criticised the municipal leadership of Lisbon City Council President Carlos Moedas, with Pedro Nuno Santos calling him “very skilled in communication but a very bad mayor”.

“I think that all the conditions are there to build in the city of Lisbon a very interesting project that will unite progressive forces, left forces, but which will obviously be able to seduce, to attract many people who do not usually vote for the left,” he said.

Rui Tavares also stressed that Lisbon is “not happy with the leadership of Carlos Moedas”, believing that there is “an opportunity to bring innovation to municipal governance”.

“That’s why it’s necessary at this point to talk to our fellow citizens and have concrete alternatives,” he stressed after a meeting in which both parties admitted they had talked about the presidential elections but refused to foresee the possibility of a possible common application.