the most chewed gum in portugal
Continuing the appeal he had made on Friday night in an interview with SIC, Rui Rio published a letter to PSD militants inviting them to reflect on the postponement of the PSD’s direct elections until after the legislative ones.
The reason? The “national interest” – curiously the same one that Paulo Rangel invokes to anticipate the Congress and that Marcelo invokes not to give in to the interests of both.
In the letter, the direction to carry out PSD considers, “in view of the circumstances that the country is going through” and “the objectives of the PSD”, “totally inappropriate” to carry out any inmates on the next 4th of December. “The Portuguese born from the PSD a clear and credible alternative to the PS. It will not leave a PSD facing an internal dispute, while the PS and the Government will make their campaign disappear, taking advantage of our electoral divisions”.
Thus, “in the name of the national interest and of our own party, we must be united and totally focused on fighting our true adversaries” – the document reads.
A national interest that Paulo Rangel considers to be the complete opposite. According to the MEP and Rio’s opponent, the nation’s interest is, indeed, to anticipate the National Congress of the PSD because it will contribute to the feasibility of “a quick legislative update calendar, with the various political policies, including the most representative, in full and equal political, legitimate, formal and operational conditions to offer the Portuguese as their best teams and projects, with the clarity of alternatives that a healthy democracy deserves”.
For the “rangelista” wing, “a guarantee of the regular functioning of the internal democratic institutions and processes of the PSD, as a pillar party of the democratic system, is also crucial for the defense of democracy and, consequently, of the national interest”. In other words, both Rio and Rangel defend that the PSD must go strong and give credibility to the update.
However, if the first believes that there is internal updating before the legislative ones will harm this credibility, the second defends that as an internal it will enhance it.
Not surprisingly, another distinguished former Social Democrat joins the discussion, offering a kind of ‘third way’. “The national interest is worth more than the interest, which is also very legitimate, in the internal life of various institutions, such as parties,” the President of the Republic told journalists in Vila Real. This is how, then, the same chewing gum is ‘chewed’ in three flavors, which, from mouth to mouth, is stretched in such a way that it is suitable for any position on the same subject.
Rangel should be able to anticipate Congress At dusk on Sunday, the chairman of the National Council, Paulo Mota Pinto, had announced the convening of an extraordinary National Council for November 6, next Saturday, in Aveiro.
The council will have been convened by the two ai and will take place two days after the date on which Marcelo is expected to schedule the update. This National Council was officially called to analyze a “political situation resulting from the disapproval of the State Budget”. In practice, however, the possible proposal of Rio will be discussed – to postpone the direct elections until after the legislative ones – and Rangel – to bring the congress forward to the 17th, 18th and 19th of December. One pulls from one side, the other pulls from the other.
Although the militants go to the Council after being eliminated to reflect in favor of the current direction, it is quite likely that it will be the better one – thus managing to pre-empt Congress. Just “do the math”: if the 68 national councilors who accompany Rangel in marking this extraordinary National Council vote in favor of bringing the congress forward, their proposal will prevail over Rio’s.
In a single sentence, Rangel has the majority of the National Council (as was proved by the ordinary council when setting the date of direct elections for December 4th). These 68 signatures include figures such as Luís Filipe Menezes and Rui Machete.
Note that the PSD’s internal calendar is fundamental to the legislative accounts. Rangel, even winning on December 4th, can only be ‘candidate for prime minister’ if, on the one hand, he manages to bring the Congress forward to December 17th, 18th and 19th and, on the other hand, Marcelo sets the advantages for the 30th of January (all parties, except for IL, ask for 16). If the PSD Congress is not brought forward (unlikely) and the January 16 update data is confirmed, these will conflict, as they are scheduled for the same weekend.
‘Chicanization’ of Rio The current president of the PSD was criticized for the message asking militants to reflect on the postponement of internal updates. Rio’s position has been compared to that of Francisco Rodrigues dos Santos, his CDS counterpart. Pedro Rodrigues, deputy of the PSD, also spoke of “secretary maneuvers”.