The Deputy General Secretary of the PS expressed his conviction that the Socialists will return to the leadership of the Government of the Azores, pointing out that the party “does not change the future” of the Region “by dangerous power plays”.
“I am absolutely convinced that this congress will mark the return of the PS to the direction of the Government of the Azores. The PS does not change the future of the Azores for dangerous games of power, such as the link with the extreme right, which for us is a red line. The relationship of trust between the PS and the Azoreans is very lively, good and recommendable”, said João Torres, at the closing ceremony of the 18th Regional Congress, which ends today in the city of Horta, Faial Island.
The socialist leader assured that “the entire PS, from the entire country”, will be with the PS/Azores, supporting it in a fight “that also belongs to all the Portuguese socialists”.
In the 2020 regional elections, the PS won the elections, but lost the absolute majority it had in the Region for 24 years, electing 25 deputies out of a universe of 57.
PSD, CDS-PP and PPM, which together represent 26 deputies, signed a governance agreement.
The coalition also signed a parliamentary advocacy agreement with Chega and with the independent deputy Carlos Furtado (ex-Chega) and the PSD an agreement with IL.
The Legislative Assembly of the Azores is made up of 57 deputies and, in the current legislature, 25 are from the PS, 21 from the PSD, three from the CDS-PP, two from the PPM, two from the BE, one from the Liberal Initiative, one from the PAN, one from Chega and one independent deputy (chosen by Chega).
Now, for the Deputy Secretary General of the PS, “it is important to rescue the sense of the future that was forgotten in political calculations and the permanent surrender to the blackmail of those who govern this region today.”
“On behalf of the national leadership of the PS, I convey a message of strength and energy to be the next president of the Regional Government of the Azores,” he said.
João Torres highlighted Vasco Cordeiro, who was president of the Government of the Azores between 2012 and 2020, as “a leader who does not turn his back on the fight and who is present in difficult times”.
“It is rare to see someone who, having held the highest positions, remains available and fully committed to embodying an alternative project,” he stressed.
In the “last 11 elections held in the Azores, the PS won” in the region.
“And the next ones will win, recovering the leadership of the Government”, he stressed.
For João Torres, “the PS is, in the Azores, the engine of development, the political force in which most Azoreans place hope for the future.”
Source: Observadora
