Filipe Farinha / Lusa
Former PSDB leader rules out returning to politics and criticizes loss of “golden opportunity” for structural reforms during the time of Costa and Marcelo. Regarding Porto, he guarantees: it was better 11 years ago.
Rui Rio reiterated his lack of interest in returning to active political life, also ruling out a possible candidacy for the Presidency of the Republic in 2026, a scenario he even considered in 2015.
During a debate on democracy in Porto, the former PSD leader stated that his current state of mind does not give him “great desire” to occupy political positions.“You can’t be mad at me for that. I have already given many years to politics”, he tells .
“My state of mind at the moment, and what I foresee for the near future, is that I have no great desire to hold any political position again. The world goes around a lot, but, honestly, that’s my state of mind”, said the former mayor of Porto.
Cautious when addressing internal PSD issues, such as Luís Montenegro’s strategy for the next presidential elections, he considered it “normal” to hold the highest position in the State.
“The golden opportunity that was missed”
Rio also once again lamented the lack of structural reforms in the country, with emphasis on the Justicea central theme of his proposals as leader of the opposition.
The former social democratic leader considers that the period in which he led the PSD was a “golden opportunity” to make profound changes, given the favorable political conditions: an absolute majority of the PS and its willingness to collaborate. But he accused the then Prime Minister, António Costa, and the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, of not taking advantage of this window of opportunity.
“Today we continue to lose opportunities, because it should have been done yesterday, but not with the same value as the opportunity we lost 4, 5 or 6 years ago. At that time, the PS had an absolute majority and I, as leader of the opposition, was available to, together with the Government and the President of the Republic, carry out the reforms that the country needed, starting, from the outset, with what else the We say, what is Justice?
“That It was the golden opportunity that was lostbecause we had an opposition leader available, which is very difficult to obtain for reforms. Governments normally want to make reforms and the President of the Republic also normally wants them to be done, the opposition leader is the one who is traditionally not in the mood for adjustments, because he runs the risk of being diminished, so to speak, in his opposition performance”, he said. Rui Rio.
“At that time I was available, those who weren’t were the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister”, he highlighted: and now, “the context is different”.
“The context is different. Not only does the opposition leader not have the availability that I had, but, let’s say, there is an opposition leader and a second opposition leader. The opposition is more fragmented than it was. Therefore, it is more difficult”, he believes.
About Portowho recently went to City Hall, Rio showed dissatisfaction: he admits that he does not feel more satisfied as a Porto Alegre resident now than he did 11 years ago, when he left the leadership of City Hall, highlighting that there are aspects that he observes “with discontent”.
