October: the trees come undressed and so do the parties. This autumn, it’s not just leaves that may fall, but the government.
Pedro Nuno Santos guaranteed that He would rather lose elections defending his convictions than abdicate for fear of losing them. Which is funny, because not long ago he lost elections after a campaign in which he presented precisely the most diluted version of his ideals.
This time, the PS general secretary really wants to fight, which reinforces the problem that the Socialist Party has with toxic masculinity. This week, the PS elected the 19 leaders of the federations and there is not one woman. That’s why there is, within the party, the Socialist Women group: so they have an office where they can define the party’s ideological position on makeup, Zara news and small household appliances. In leadership positions? It’s not worth it. In important PS bodies, the body is always the same.
For his part, Luís Montenegro seems to have nothing to lose. The Prime Minister considers that the specifications that the PS imposes to make the budget viable is “radical”. Now, taking into account that the renunciation of the IRS Jovem is a measure widely criticized by moderates, it seems like a no-brainer to me. Right now, the president of the PSD is acting like me when I enter a Porsche stand: pretends to be interested in negotiating.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, this time, prefers not to dissolve. He acceded to the requests of Pedro Nuno Santos, who in August had asked them to stop “upsetting the PS”, but turned to Montenegro, begging him for “flexibility”. The presidential need to save the legislature is perceived: if Marcelo sends the country to elections again, He will forever be known as the Dissolver of the Republic.
It is undeniable that there is already a climate of insinuation, of teasing. AD and PS, day after day, lose their shyness, wearing smaller outfits, so that the Portuguese ardently desire elections. There is, however, a certain modesty in assuming that one wants a new act, similar to what the member of a couple feels who wants to suggest an open relationship. In this case, because they know we will be offended, the parties are holding off on telling us they want us to go to the swingers club again. A bacchanal every now and then, that’s fine. Every year? It’s debauchery. This is no longer alternation, it is alternation.
