The socialist general secretary today considered it inappropriate that Henrique Gouveia e Melo had stood up “as a PS candidate”, emphasizing that the only one in the presidential race who has the support of the socialists is António José Seguro.
José Luís Carneiro spoke to journalists at Passos Perdidos of the Assembly of the Republic following the debate on Tuesday night between Henrique Gouveia e Melo and António José Seguro, arguing that “it was clear” that whoever meets the best conditions to be President of the Republic and has shown that he has the profile for the position is the candidate supported by the PS.
“I really consider it inappropriate that another presidential candidate has proposed himself as a PS candidate,” he said, criticizing Gouveia e Melo.
The PS leader reiterated that his party “only has one candidate”, António José Seguro, who is supported by the PS following the decision of the socialist bodies, that is, the “practically unanimous decision of the National Commission”.
“Regardless of the freedom of each person, there is a candidate who has this support. I appeal, in fact, to all Portuguese women and, in particular, to socialists, to mobilize behind the candidate who represents the democratic center-left, who represents the values of Mário Soares’ party”, he asked.
Asked whether from now on the party will be more involved in the Seguro campaign, Carneiro began by noting that at the moment the pre-campaign is still taking place and that this “is the phase of debates between the different candidates”, with “appropriate times for participation in electoral campaigns”.
“The Socialist Party has been, in the terms considered by António José Seguro and his team, in the terms and at the moments in which it is considered appropriate and will be so in relation to the future”, he replied.
The PS leader emphasized that presidential candidacies “result from an individual desire to serve the country in the most important political functions and, therefore, are candidacies that go beyond political parties”.
“The political parties, as they understand it, declare their support for these candidacies, in this case, for the candidacy that, in the space of democratic socialism, made itself available to go to elections”, he said.
According to Carneiro, “regardless of the decision of their bodies, PS activists and their supporters enjoy all the freedoms to make their political choices”.
“But naturally my appeal is for socialists, social democrats, humanists, to mobilize around the candidacy that represents the values of democratic socialism”, he insisted.
In the debate, Gouveia e Melo said that he represents “another political field too, which is that of the PS”, later classifying his opponent as representing “a faction of the PS”.
“You can’t even complete the PS. And that’s why you’re worried about these attacks you’re making on me”, replied the admiral.