[ad_1]
Widely criticized for the way in which they managed to celebrate May 1 and for having circulated people between municipalities against what was in force that day, the communists are reflecting to the millimeter on how to administer the Festa do Avante.
António Costa passed the ball to them, saying that the Party could be held “as long as according to the rules of the General Directorate of Health” for the pandemic. And the PCP referred to a “more detailed” position for later.
“The party of Ahead ” It is not a simple music festival, it is a great political and cultural achievement, “the party said in a statement. It added:” A more detailed position will be taken in the concrete knowledge of the legal provision that can be adopted. “, until Parliament approves the diploma with details on how festivals and shows of a similar nature can be held until September 30 (this is the expression corrected by the Government, already considering the rental of the PCP) “.
The “analogous nature” is what is causing headaches for the communists, who will not want to be accused of being, for the second time, treated exceptionally. It is true that the Festa do Avante is a political initiative, nothing less than the historic I returned Communist Party politics where its leader gives the opening speech for the next political year. But it is also true that the Festival, like the festivals that the Government banned until the end of September, gathers thousands of people and includes multiple spaces for food and drinks, as well as a populous camp. Nothing easily compatible with social detachment.
“Each party is obviously responsible for the way it organizes” its agenda, António Costa warned, when he announced what seemed like a “yes” on the entire scale to the Festa do Avante. But the “yes” was, after all, a “neem”. “The political activity of the PCP or any other party is not prohibited, nor does it occur to us, I believe that no one is prohibited from political activity. Now, these activities must be carried out in accordance with the rules of the DGS”, stressed the head of government.
This requirement is also part of the decision announced on Friday by the Minister of Culture to open space for all the festivities promoted in the summer by the local authorities and which will allow artists and technicians not to lose their summer completely. The PCP also announced its intention to limit the party lineup to Portuguese artists, precisely considering the crisis that will affect this sector. But the main point of the question is the restrictions imposed by the health authorities and that in an event with the size of the Festa do Avante they become more difficult to handle.
António Costa also said more, recalling how the PS managed its political agenda in the context of the pandemic. “In my party we had the congress scheduled for May, ‘sine die’ has been postponed” due to the covid-19 pandemic, “he said. That is, everyone knows the lines they cook with but everyone must comply with the rules dictated by the A Difficult Puzzle, which the PCP is analyzing in detail, aware that the Prime Minister has opened a space for them but, at the same time, has set goals for them.
On the one hand, the Government itself will not want to be under fire by excepting the Party; On the other hand, the Communists know that after the May 1 controversy, the people would not accept that the festive side of the Festa do Avante was carried out without restrictions. The question is if they can find an alternative model to the classic, complying with the Festival, although in a different way than usual. Or if they postpone or cancel it, which only happened once, in 1987, due to supposed difficulties in finding a space. At that time, the PCP had not yet purchased Quinta da Atalaia, in Seixal.
The press this Saturday continues to echo the controversy surrounding communist initiatives. In an opinion piece in Public, the socialist Francisco Assis compares the past May 1 with the choreographies of North Korea and accuses the government of “having been bad in the way it treated the May 1 celebrations.” Assis also does not forgive the President of the Republic, who, he accuses, “agreed with the grotesque staging and tried to distance himself from it when he realized its controversial nature.”
In the same newspaper, João Miguel Tavares writes in an opinion article with the title “The Festa do Avante ended on May 1!”, That the PCP “can only cancel the party, take risks in October or, to avoid losing face , reduce it to a form so symbolic that perhaps DGS can shrug. ” But the PCP, for now, does not comment.
Eventually, the Communists would not expect restrictions on the performances to continue beyond August. Now, with the certainty of the Government’s intentions and with the argument that they are waiting to see the law, they analyze the matter and prepare a position. The party may not be the same.
