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The first reactions to the confirmation that the former Socialist MEP Ana Gomes will stand in the presidential elections in January 2021 showed that the PS remains as divided as when, on May 13, the President of the Government António Costa wanted to “close” the a matter with implicit support for the re-election of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, with the president of the Assembly of the Republic, Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues, later affirming that he would vote for the current Head of State if he sought a second term.
The first challenge for Ana Gomes, who will present her candidacy on Thursday afternoon, at the Casa da Imprensa, in Lisbon, will be to build the difficult bridge between supporters of the “centrist” line, as well as former MEP Francisco Assis (current President of the Economic and Social Council), who was one of the biggest critics of the “contraption”, or of the businessman and former socialist activist Henrique Neto, and the left wing of the party, which has a great weight in the Government and in the parliamentary group . Something that does not seem easy, however many of the latter have made it clear that they do not admit having contributed to the re-election of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, with the Minister of Infrastructure, Pedro Nuno Santos, saying in an interview with “Expresso” that they would vote for a candidate from the Left Bloc or the PCP if a socialist presidential candidate did not appear.
Difficult, but not impossible, is the possibility that some left-wing socialists choose to support the blocker Marisa Matias, who repeats the presidential candidacy after obtaining 10.12% of the votes in 2016, just behind Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and the independent. Sampaio da Nóvoa. The MEP will make a statement this Wednesday, at 5 p.m., in Largo do Carmo, in Lisbon, in the presence of professionals who were at the forefront in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, followed by a formal presentation of the candidacy. undated, already with figures from his party and, finally, from others.
In this regard, the deputy Eduardo Barroco de Melo, who does not see that Ana Gomes “can be confused with a centrist” despite her supporters, argues that the former MEP will serve to contain the power of attraction of Marisa Matias in the neighborhood. to the left of the PS. “I am not saying that there cannot be anyone who prefers Marisa Matías to Ana Gomes, but in the field of public support I believe that the candidacy of Ana Gomes will limit the possibilities. Without it, I would easily see many socialists supporting the candidacy of Marisa Matias, “she told Jornal Economico.
On the contrary, the Madeiran socialist deputy Carlos Pereira took to social media to emphasize his clear opposition to the former Portuguese ambassador to Indonesia. Assuming he is revealing an individual position, he wrote on Facebook that he will not vote “for a candidate who is always on the easy side, simplifying the arguments to amplify ‘his buzzwords’, deliberately ignoring the complexity of real life,” who ” he makes a public trial his business card is arbitrary ”and that“ attracts votes by showing moral superiority at all costs, sometimes without foundation ”.
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