Isaltino Morais plans new party between PS and PSD, aiming for 2029 elections

A centre-ground project

Isaltino Morais, mayor of Oeiras and a former minister for cities, spatial planning and the environment, has confirmed that he will create a new political party. In an interview with Expresso published on Thursday, 12 November, he called the project irreversible and said a space between the Socialist Party (PS) and the Social Democratic Party (PSD) remains unfilled. The party would target moderate voters and people unhappy with the parties now on the scene, including those who vote for Chega as a form of protest. He argues that a credible alternative could turn a protest vote into a useful vote. Morais also describes Portugal as facing a political impasse, noting that the most significant reforms have been carried out by the PS and PSD, which have alternated in government.

He put the point plainly in the interview:

“A new party is irreversible.”

Ambitions for 2029

Morais wants the party to contest the next legislative and local elections, both scheduled for 2029. He accepts that a new party rarely wins at its first attempt, yet considers it essential that the project reaches the ballot that year. He says the initiative is not a personal ambition and that socialists, social democrats and centrists have approached him about taking part. He also reports receiving messages and letters from several regions of the country and says he wants the party to speak especially to younger generations. Asked about the name, he neither confirmed nor denied that it would be 'Fazemos', which so far remains only a rumour. He is 76 years old and is expected to be one of the initial promoters.

Asked about his own role, he insisted that the project is not about his career:

“This party is for the young people of this country.”

Signatures and registration

Registering a party in Portugal requires promoters to collect at least 7,500 signatures from citizens and to file the application with the Constitutional Court. Morais considers the signature drive the easiest stage of the process. As a benchmark, he cited the independent movement 'Isaltino Inovar Oeiras 25', which gathered about 10,000 signatures in a month during the 2025 local election campaign. Expresso reported that the party would need to appear on the 2029 ballot, and that news could come at the end of November. The extended version of the interview is due in the Revista E supplement in the week of 16 November.

Open questions

No final name has been confirmed, and no promoters beyond Morais have been publicly named. Morais has described the project in general terms, as a pragmatic and reformist alternative at the centre. Reporting on the unconfirmed name also describes a modern social-democratic ideology, but no formal programme has been presented. The first formal step remains the collection of the 7,500 signatures required for registration.