Seven months after it was “practically impossible” for the PS to make the State Budget for 2025 viable, Pedro Nuno Santos decided to propose to the party that the Government’s proposal be made viable. In recent months he entered a intense negotiation process and was even close to an agreement with Luís Montenegro, but at the end of all this time he ended up justifying the decision with facts that they were always there: The elections were not long ago and going to the polls now did not guarantee a stable solution. He ended up swearing that within a year he will not negotiate with the Government and that in the coming months he will “renew” the party to develop a new electoral program.

Now, Pedro Nuño wants to put an end to the focus of external and internal turbulence that the Budget for the PS has become. He even announced that the abstention with which the Budget will be made viable It does not only apply to the first vote of the proposal in Parliament (the so-called generality, scheduled for the 31st of this month), but also for the final global vote (on November 29). It has already covered the entire process and avoided new speculation, uncertainties and possible pressures on the PS. And he went even further and already guaranteed that he will not go down the same path again this year.

When asked about the 2026 Budget, the PS leader refused to answer. I just said, as if lesson learned: “You will not hear anything from the PS about the next Budget until it is delivered in the Assembly of the Republic.” A very different strategy than the one he followed this time, entering into a negotiation process. This time he negotiated because “it was not serious not to negotiate at all” and only to have “minimum conditions”, highlighting that the Government’s “substantial setback” on the IRS Jovem made “the decision to negotiate worthwhile”. But he does not seem to want to repeat it, especially because next year the calendar of this process coincides with that of the municipal campaign and the electoral dispute makes approaching it inadvisable.

[Já saiu o terceiro episódio de “A Grande Provocadora”, o novo podcast Plus do Observador que conta a história de Vera Lagoa, a mulher que afrontou Salazar, desafiou os militares de Abril e ridicularizou os que se achavam donos do país. Pode ouvir aqui, no Observador, e também na Apple Podcasts, no Spotify e no Youtube. E pode ouvir aqui o primeiro episódio e aqui o segundo.]

Specialty with proposals for changes, but also with promise

For now, and as for the EO for 2025, the proposal will still have to be debated and voted on in the specialty, at which time the parties will present their amendment proposals, and the PS will not be left out. “We enter the specialty with total freedom,” stated the socialist, guaranteeing at the same time that “the PS will not be the causing imbalances in the public accounts”: it is when the parliamentary accounts, where the PS has only two seats less than the PSD and the CDS combined, allow the so-called “negative coalitions for the Government”, and the opposition manages to unite to approve amendment proposals against the will of the Government.

Government “completely exposed” to the specialty. If the EO is “distorted”, Montenegro can demand elections

If Pedro Nuno wants to avoid the idea of irresponsibility attached to his leadership, he does not want this to leave him attached to the AD. So much so that, in the long opening minutes of his speech, he made a list of all the “normal” reasons for the PS to vote against the Budget. “I am against the idea of ​​a central bloc, formal or informal, and against parliamentary influence agreements between PS and PSD, except in extreme and very exceptional situations, in which democracy itself is at stake,” he began. saying.

“That is why I maintain that, normally, the main opposition party votes against the draft State Budget that the Government presents to Parliament. That is what the PSD did in the last 8 years. that’s normal“, repeated the socialist. And he added that it is not for fear that Chega could take his place in the opposition that defends him, especially because “this thesis elevated to doctrine would make the PS hostage to Chega”, and this party could even be in the position of de “define the meaning of the PS vote” from then on.

His position is, he explained, “in principle” and “many years ago”, has to do with the “dialectic and political bipolarization” that he defends. It goes against “a tactical alliance between PS and PSD on the one hand and any populist and radical party on the other.”

All these guarantees were necessary to make it viable and justify it, when until now his “declaration to the country” left the country. scrambled. But not before attacking the right, surrounded by “accusations, insults and a lot of confusion,” where he says he sees “irresponsibility.” As for the Government, it says that “it is isolated”“alone, more minority than ever and absolutely dependent on the largest opposition party.”

“I’m not impulsive.”

Only later did the two reasons emerge that supported exclusively feasibility: “Seven months have passed since the last legislation”; “The eventual advantage could take the country to the third legislative elections without the prospect of obtaining a stable majority from them.”

The two reasons always existedbut only now has Pedro Nuno decided. Because? “First of all, communication is done now because “I’m not impulsive.”. An Achilles heel to which the opposition has pointed arrows. “Secondly, this is a complex issue, without obvious solutions and that requires the PS to consult the party, reflect and make a decision.” “HE moment of the PS is defined by the PS and no one else,” said the leader who in the last week was strongly pressured within his own party to move forward with a clear decision.

Take notes inside and prepare for combat.

And in this chapter the leader also had some messages to leave. He even warned that “no one has any illusions about the unity of the PS. “We are a united party,” he stated at the end of the press conference. And that internal divisions occurred “in the face of such an issue.” complex” and that this does not translate “into a division of internal power in the PS, which does not exist,” he stated, as if warning at the same time.

Now is the time to carry out the revitalization plan that has been pending since the legislative elections. Thus, the PS will dedicate the next year to the General State, “listening to the Portuguese and building with them a program of economic and social progress for Portugal.” The idea is, he said, “programmatic renewal” and also of “people”. This and “focusing” on the next municipal elections, which will be held in a year, where the bar is set to “continue to be the beacon of progress.” There are no amounts that can be charged at that time.