At the end of this Wednesday there was still no announcement of another candidacy for general secretary of the Socialist Party, which indicated, with a strong dose of certainty, that José Luís Carneiro will remain in the position he assumed in June 2025 as he leads the only ticket to present itself today, deadline, to the national secretariat. There is currently, as DN wrote, internal pacification: the results in the Municipal Elections signaled some recovery, despite the global defeat for the PSD, and Carneiro’s stance of respect for federations, in municipal and municipal choices, pleased local structures. The tour itself around the country, traveling to the various regions, is valued, our newspaper knows. Without appropriating a victory for António José Seguro, the strategy is naturally praised, which began by being slow to support, always remaining behind the scenes (even at the request of the President-elect).
As such, to prove this moment of consonance, the DN presents the vision of four figures who were considered for the position of general secretary. Alexandra Leitão, Ana Mendes Godinho, Duarte Cordeiro and Miguel Prata Roque agree with the general idea that Carneiro’s continuity makes sense.
Not seeing that the leadership of the Socialist Party has serious errors at this stage, Alexandra Leitão declares that “patience is needed in the PS”, stressing to Diário de Notícias that “no one is going to present themselves”. Therefore, the former minister of State Modernization and Public Administration between 2019 and 2022, previously a supporter of Pedro Nuno Santos and now a councilor in Lisbon, argues that “it is necessary to give time to José Luís Carneiro” and strive for “constructive opposition.”
Ana Mendes Godinho, Minister of Labor and Social Solidarity from 2019 to 2024, was another name suggested for leadership, being a candidate for Sintra, where she is now an opposition councilor. She is more complimentary about Aries. “José Luís Carneiro has been the right person, he has knowledge of the issue, capacity for moderation and dialogue and has seen the bottom of the country, looking for joint moments, trying to make the PS available to negotiate in favor of the country”advocates for the DN, adding that “the PS has to respond to people’s needs and be uncompromising in the fight to maintain the workers’ achievements”.
University professor Miguel Prata Roque is the most critical. He says it is “incomprehensible and surprising that there is no other candidacy” given the tradition that “the PS has always had social-liberals and Christian Democrats”, adding that the party “is not dead, but dull, without attracting the necessary dynamics”. On the other hand, he considers it “natural that there are lists for the National Commission”, for example. Specifically regarding Carneiro’s performance, the former Secretary of State for the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of António Costa classifies it as “sensible”, agreeing that “he has resolved problems for the Government such as in the State Budget, in foreign policy or in the appointment of Aguiar Branco as President of the Assembly of the Republic”, seeing “benefits in stability”. Still, it calls for primaries to legitimize it before the elections. “There is a concentration in small directories and the PS has to open itself up to society. José Luís Carneiro had promised, in the previous strategic motion, a debate and there was a reference to primaries. Typically, it is the secretary general who must go to legislative elections, therefore whoever is elected in two years’ time in a new congress. But whoever wins the primaries must go to the candidate for prime minister, therefore with votes from people not registered in the party who can speak out. I haven’t seen much interest in talking about it.”, maintains Prata Roque, recalling the only time this happened in the PS, in 2014, when António Costa defeated Seguro with the participation of 177 thousand people, estimated to be half of these just supporters, not affiliated with the PS.
Definitely stating that he did not think about “moving forward to a candidacy”, Prata Roque regrets that “we are not taking stock of things done well and not well done from 2015 to 2024” and that the PS works, in certain cases, “like a job center”. Remember that “whoever supports Guterres, Sampaio, Sócrates or Costa also supports Carneiro”, asking for internal critical voices. He also recalls that despite it being “sensible” for Carneiro not to take ownership of Seguro’s victory, “the Portuguese preferred to give the Presidency to a socialist who was away from politics”.
Presenting himself as critical of the statutes “because there are direct elections before Congress”, which, according to Prata Roque, “empties the debate”, he also regrets that it is necessary to “candidate for general secretary to present strategic motions”. Furthermore, the jurist defends “alternation” in the position of president. “The PS must value rotation and limited mandates”, he says, advising: “It would be beneficial to look for another demographic state and another vision of the world”. Carlos César has been president since 2014 and was re-elected in 2024 with 90.36% of the votes.
Duarte Cordeiro, former Minister of Environment and Climate Action, highlights the need for the PS, in opposition, to try “convergent policies”, especially because some previous ones, from the Costa Government, “were interrupted by the current Government”. He does not think, however, that “the role of the PS is to constantly ask the Government for meetings”. Tuesday, on Antena 1, he asked that “it becomes clearer where the PS diverges from the Government”. He considers that “the success or failure of José Luís Carneiro results from his work” and confirmed that he hopes that he will go to the next legislative elections. “It is natural that someone who is building a job can later, later, apply with the preparation they have made”, he highlights, refusing to “commit” to the support, because “it may happen that during this period alternatives emerge with which I identify more”. He stressed that he did not have “future performance plans in the party” and that, “depending on the PS leader’s reading, he could be part of national bodies, although he clarifies: “I will not be available for the national leadership of the Socialist Party”.
Regionalization and investment in industry go to motion
In the strategic motion that will be presented and which still has details to be finalized, the DN found that José Luís Carneiro attaches great importance to enhancing the local economy. And it is in this sense that a debate at the congress at the end of March, in Viseu, could help the PS to present a project to revise the municipal lawbut also a path, still long, towards seeking to once again have a national conversation in relation to regionalization. This is a way to also highlight local communities, territorial approximation and rapid response in cases of emergency with less dependence on the central State. At this stage, for example, the possibility of district capitals having a more active role in calling for reinforcements or managing funds is being studied.
In this same territorial approach, reinforcements of the network of ports and railway lines will be valued, particularly with guarantees obtained from the Government in relation to the junction to Viana do Castelo, and large-scale territorial contracts. The PS must follow the simplex licensing proposals, some of which the Government now intends to put into practice, even in urban planning. The economy, from what DN was able to learn, plays a key role, as it is the area where the party believes it can negotiate, via Parliament, agreements with the Government. And there is sharing of opinion, namely in investing in industrial clusters and in training production in a dual way: that is, making it possible for companies to dedicate themselves to more than one product, mainly of high value, for export.
In conversations with businesspeople, always in a reserved manner, Carneiro collects requests for tax benefits for small and medium-sized companies and hears complaints about the lack of labor. One of the PS’s major plans is to reinstate the focus on professional education, in order to feed the local industry, stop the departure of young people, and technically prepare professionals in the sector.. At the same time, partnerships and protocols between companies and the scientific system are included in the proposals of the strategic motion, calling for a technological interface to increase the competitiveness of the business fabric. There is also the expectation that Artificial Intelligence tests can be carried out, as the Government has already recommended in the recent PTRR, and evaluate the dynamics at Work.
The bet, advise Carneiro, is also to invest in products that are rarer on the market and, therefore, increase the value of demand. It is worth remembering that in the 5% investment for Defense, the secretary general, in concert with the vision of the President of the Republic, had already defended the dual use of the militarystimulating the economy and strengthening resources for Civil Protection and Security Forces. There is a survey of three hundred companies that could produce textiles nationally and internationally for this purpose, for example. Looking at the economy, the PS defends the regulation of tourism itself and highlights the importance of revenue diversification.
It is clear that the PS will continue the fight against the revision of the Labor Code and that it wants reforms in both Health and Justice, being willing to negotiate, but without revolutions in the basic laws.
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