It was 2011 when Mário Soares published the autobiographical, political and ideological essay A Politician Comes Out. The title proved to be particularly fortunate: not only did it accurately describe the life and way of being of Mário Soares, it also ended up becoming a true distinguishing criterion between two types of public actors. On the one hand, those who unequivocally assume that they practice politics, with the aim of guaranteeing rights and freedoms, managing public resources, creating economic impact and influencing the future of the country. On the other, those who build careers based on party politics, but move away from it whenever it suits them, in an exercise in carefully calculated cynicism.
This reflection serves as a framework to understand the agreement that Carlos Moedas concluded with the extreme right, without the Lisbon residents’ notice and without ever assuming, during the last municipal campaign, that this would be an option on the table.
The same Carlos Moedas who accuses any legitimate exercise of opposition to his poor performance as president of the Lisbon City Council as “radical” is, after all, the Carlos Moedas who makes behind-the-scenes deals with Chega, negotiating places in exchange for votes in favor of the Municipal Budget and, simultaneously, trying to silence his political opponents.
There is a contradiction that is difficult to ignore here. The mayor obsessed with image and communication, who seeks to move away from the figure of the traditional politician worn down by populism, is the same one who decides to “buy” a councilor who, by curious coincidence, leaves Chega to take over departments, such as Food Waste, which would certainly be called pans in the language of Chega… Chega. A gesture that says a lot about the real nature of this understanding and little about political coherence or respect for the electorate.
Carlos Moedas now governs with a majority that Lisbon residents did not give him at the polls. And with that, there are no more excuses. The upcoming mandate is expected to be particularly demanding: victimization now has as short a leg as lies. For four years, he repeated to exhaustion that he was no longer doing it because “they wouldn’t let him”, systematically resorting to the powerful communication machine he had set up in the municipality. This narrative is, as of now, exhausted.
Without works planned by the Executive led by Fernando Medina to inaugurate, and without exceptional events, such as the Pope’s visit, that would allow him to gain media prominence, there is only one possible path left for him: roll up his sleeves, effectively govern the city and think more about Lisbon and less about a personal strategy to replace Luís Montenegro. The Moedas com Chega agreement has this virtue: there are no more excuses for not doing it, Carlos!
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