Pedro Nuno Santos was greeted by a protest from security forces at the entrance to a rally in Vila Franca do Campo, on the island of São Miguel, in the Azores, who presented red cards in the air and sang the national anthem. The PS leader guaranteed that the party will have a “solution” in its electoral program so that these professionals “feel dignified”.
“We are working on a solution so that you feel respected, valued, dignified. That is our concern”, said Pedro Nuno Santos, who recognized that the role of the police “in the safety of our people is tremendous”. “We are aware of this”, he assured, in front of members of the PSP, GNR and prison guards.
“We have respect for your work and we are working on a solution to make you feel dignified”, he stressed, adding that this solution will be “presented in the government program”.
Already inside the pavilion, where he spoke at the socialists’ rally in view of next Sunday’s Azorean regional elections, Pedro Nuno Santos also said that “we have to know how to listen, know how to respect” the police officers’ “concerns and demands”. “We always have to try to find answers to our people’s problems. Obviously we are paying attention,” he said, in response to journalists.
Asked about the farmers’ protests, about which he admitted to being concerned, he also considered that “we have to understand, have empathy, feel other people’s problems and look for solutions”. “It is in this spirit that we are working”, he concluded, alongside Vasco Cordeiro, leader of PS-Açores and candidate for president of the regional government.
Pedro Nuno accuses PSD of creating a “new alliance” with Chega
During his speech, in front of a room with hundreds of socialists, Pedro Nuno Santos aligned himself with Vasco Cordeiro’s strategy of waving off Chega’s fear, and accused the PSD of having inaugurated a “new political alliance”, the “Chega -D”, which “didn’t solve any problem” in the Azores, “they added”. “We cannot trust them again to guarantee what they were unable to guarantee in these years”, he defended.
Speaking before Vasco Cordeiro, the PS leader highlighted that “instability marked the governance” of the PSD “from the first day”, as José Manuel “Bolieiro had promised the Azoreans that he would not make any agreement with Chega”, but, “In view of the need, he made the agreement that he always said he would not make”.
And now, I’ve already said that it “doesn’t close doors” or “open doors” to Chega. “What credibility do you have to make commitments?” asked Pedro Nuno. “It has no credibility. No one can trust it today,” he replied.
Turning then to the national scene, in a speech lasting around 30 minutes that also served as a campaign for the legislative elections, the general secretary of the PS accused the PSD of “never” fulfilling its promises, since, in 2011, “ they cut salaries in the name of public debt” and left it, in 2015, “higher than what they inherited”.
Pedro Nuno Santos and Vasco Cordeiro at a PS rally in Vila Franca do Campo Rui Gaudêncio
In the Azores, “it was no different”, as debt grew, as did “poverty” or “school dropout”, he highlighted, trying to show that an agreement with Chega “is not just arithmetic”, but “has consequences” .
The secretary general then listed a series of priorities, such as the autonomy of the Azores, arguing that the figure of the Republic’s representative “does not make any sense”. Or social cohesion, an issue in which he took the opportunity to recall the goal of setting the minimum wage at one thousand euros in 2028.
And also the pensioners, who he used to shoot at Luís Montenegro. “They know that they have to reconcile because they were the worst treated during the PSD government”, he said, also pointing out that “policies have to evolve” with regard to the solidarity supplement for the elderly, which he considers should stop considering children’s income. Finally, he insisted on the idea that the economy has to be “more diversified” to guarantee economic growth.
Repeating the day’s strategy of waving the ghost of Chega, the leader of PS-Açores, Vasco Cordeiro reiterated that the PSD will not be able to “bring stability in the near future”, if it has not done so in recent years, and once again called for a “coalition ” to stop the far right from reaching government. “They will not pass,” he shouted.