PS parliamentary leader sends clarifications to the party’s general secretary, Pedro Nuno Santos. SIC knows that the formal announcement of the candidacy could be made by the end of this week.
Pedro Nuno Santos would have chosen the parliamentary leader of the Socialist Party (PS) to . Sources tell SIC that the formal announcement could be made by the end of the week, but the PS does not assume the date.
Asked about this scenario, Alexandra Leitão sent any clarifications to the PS secretary general, Pedro Nuno Santos.
“The designations, the nominations, these statements are made by the secretary general, so we will wait”, he stated, in statements to SIC., in the Assembly of the Republic.
Mariana Vieira da Silva out of the equation
SIC also knows that the other name mentioned to try to win over Carlos Moedas, Mariana Vieira da Silva, was not an option for the socialist leader. “He didn’t speak to Mariana,” revealed a close source.
Alexandra Leitão’s departure will force the PS to elect a new leader of the parliamentary group. Pedro Delgado Alves, until now vice president, may ascend to the position.
According to , the name of Alexandra Leitão as the socialist candidate for Lisbon was chosen by Pedro Nuno Santos after carrying out some opinion studies within the party, which pointed to the current parliamentary leader as the strongest for the race for local councils.
In recent weeks, Pedro Nuno Santos has been considering the name Alexandra Leitão. The PS leader wanted, however, to make his candidacy official after the elections for the leadership of the PS Lisbon Urban Area Federation, which took place on Friday and resulted in the victory of MEP Carla Tavares. It was only after this result that the general secretary communicated the decision to the party structures.
In Porto, the : is the former Minister of Health, Manuel Pizarro, who was elected, last Friday, by the PS/Porto council. This is the third time he has run for mayor of Invicta.
