José Sena Goulão / Lusa
Former Secretary-General of PS should announce the candidacy on Thursday. In this scenario, António Vitorino goes away-but Sampaio da Nóvoa still considers going to the game.
António José Seguro Finally prepares to end speculation: this week will announce his presence in the race for the presidency of the Republic, says the newspaper this Monday.
The official announcement of the former Secretary-General of the Socialist Party (PS) is expected to take place on his “Freedom” program at CNN, broadcast on Thursdays from 10 pm.
If last week insurance admitted that the will was present, it also said a last reflection on the final decision, in the same television space as channel.
“I can say that a decision has been further, yes. At this moment my reflection is as follows: Want to be a candidate? I want. Can I be a candidate? I can, I have logistical conditions and support. It is still in consideration if I must be a candidate, ”said the former socialist leader. According to nearby sources, the decision is now definitive.
The insurance application has generated strong controversy inside the PS. Socialist personalities such as Augusto Santos Silva openly criticized the former secretary general, accusing him of not having the necessary requirements to represent the party or a wide democratic front.
In an interview with RTP2 in January, the former president of the Assembly of the Republic-who also left the hypothesis of applying-the opinion that António José Seguro does not fulfill “the minimum requirements of an application that can be supported by the PS and a vast field of democratic forces” because “if it is for banalities”.
Vitorino out, but Sampaio da Nóvoa can advance
With the advance of insurance, António Vitorino must withdraw of the presidential equation to avoid divisions in the PS – but the division in the party is already evident.
José Luís Carneiro, a former insurance collaborator, expressed preference for a candidate who unifies the socialists; Mariana Vieira da Silva, vice-minister in the government of António Costa, also supports insurance. But the latter left open the possibility of supporting an independent candidacy, as he did in 2016 with Sampaio da Nóvoa.
Nóvoa will be considering a new candidacy, even with field insurance, but only if figures such as Vitorino or Santos Silva do not advance.
On the right, the race begins to take shape, with Gouveia and Melo already made official as a candidate with – a big surprise seen by many as a “” of Porto for seeing his way to Belém blocked in 2015 with the coming of Marcelo.
