PS leader Carneiro urges voters to trust the Socialists at Estados Gerais

Estados Gerais open in Lisbon

The Socialist Party (PS) opened its Estados Gerais, a gathering that began drafting a new electoral programme, at the Estufa Fria in Lisbon on Saturday, 14 November, with 400 people taking part. Party secretary-general José Luís Carneiro moved between the tables during the session and told attendees he was counting on everyone to relaunch the socialist cycle. He gave no timetable for finishing the programme, and when asked about the calendar he avoided naming a date. Speaking to journalists on arrival, he said elections were not imminent, while stating that he wants to form a different government based on a political solution.

Seguro's approach to the housing protests

On Friday, 13 November, President António José Seguro received housing movements represented on the Casa para Viver platform at Belém Palace. He then issued a note saying he wants to bring all actors together to resolve the housing crisis. Some of the protests staged by these movements have ended in police charges. Carneiro said he was ready to receive the movements too, and that contacts had already been made to work on solutions. He praised the President's tone:

“Confrontational language has never resolved any issue. The language of the President of the Republic is right.”

Rangel's remarks and the government's tone

Paulo Rangel, minister of state and foreign affairs, said on Saturday, 14 November, as cited by SIC, that the housing camps should be against the PS. Carneiro did not name Rangel, but he said that when people feel insecure and incompetent they react with aggression. He argued that aggression is often a source of insecurity in people's lives, and in societies and institutions alike. He presented the PS as pursuing a different approach that seeks to build trust with people. He told Portuguese voters not to give up:

“Don't give up. There is a force, there is a determination and there is a confidence to do more and better.”

Trust, the centre and internal debate

Carneiro responded to the announcement by Oeiras mayor Isaltino Morais that he intends to create a new party by saying that what motivates him is the bar he sets for meeting people's needs, not what others do. He avoided saying what impact a possible centre option would have on the PS. He described the party as the common home of Portuguese democracy, with humanists, social democrats, Christian democrats and socialists across the spectrum. Pedro Nuno Santos, in an interview with TSF, advised the party to think differently and look to the past. Carneiro said he had already found points he would have corrected from the conference he held the day before, and that correcting errors is part of the party's culture of responsibility.