In the first weeks of government, he confided in a friend that . The president had been suffering from osteoarthritis since the election campaign and had been undergoing secret infiltration sessions. He had decided, however, to postpone the operation and the recovery process for image reasons.
At 77 years old, Lula confessed in that conversation that he did not want to trigger questions about his age. He eight months later, when he decided to have the surgery. “I wanted to operate right after , but I said: ‘Well, if I operate now, they’ll say that Lula is old, won the elections and is already hospitalized’.”
The topic of age is a public concern for Lula. In several statements since returning to power, the president cited this factor as a scale when declaring his vigor to govern. Even though the topic is a frequent target of political exploration beyond the limits of sordidness, the PT member has shown little demonstration that he would treat the issue as taboo.
It may not change much, but it forces the issue to be dealt with more naturally, even within the government. Ministers who speak daily with the president admit that they have already adapted to the routine of a Lula who, of course, does not have the same energy as 20 years ago. The PT member outsourced decisions and negotiations that he dedicated himself to with ease in the previous two terms.
One of the practical consequences was the gradual and continuous increase in the minister’s internal influence. In the opinion of PT members, this process tends to deepen, causing the repetition of friction between the head of the Civil House and other members of the first echelon, especially (Treasury).
In the electoral forum, Lula himself does not seem to have an interest in ignoring the age aspect, motivated by a pure political calculation. A confidant of the PT member, the senator summarized that he takes this element into account: if the president is “swimming hard” in popularity, Lula would tend to pave the way for renewal instead of running for re-election.
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