In a move to try to gather international support for the pre-candidacy that has not yet gained internal traction, senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) transformed his first days in Israel into a sequence of political, diplomatic and symbolic gestures that allies treat as an attempt to reposition his image for 2026.
The trip, coordinated with the strong performance of his brother, former deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP), combines a request for support for the candidacy, an agenda with foreign authorities and religious rituals that dialogue directly with the conservative base.
Flávio landed in Jerusalem on the 19th and, since then, those around him have worked to present the tour as more than a parliamentary mission. The internal reading is that it is a foreign policy essay by a possible Flávio government, focusing on security, technology and alignment with international right-wing governments.
Opportunity with security!
The International Conference to Combat Anti-Semitism, which began this Monday, became the public axis of the agenda. The senator was invited to speak and will speak this Tuesday, at 2pm local time. Even before the speech, however, the delegation was already politically exploring the atmosphere of the event, which brings together foreign authorities and is attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
This Monday, Eduardo Bolsonaro made a direct nod to the political line that the family is trying to convey to the trip. In his participation, he asked for support for his brother’s pre-candidacy:
— We will defeat them (the left and Lula). My brother, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, will run for President in October and I ask you to support him. My father could run, but he is in prison for lawfare — he said, at the end of his speech.
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At the end of the day, he participated in a gala dinner that Netanyahu also attended. The Prime Minister of Israel spoke at the ceremony and mentioned Flávio by name, when greeting congressmen from all over the world:
— We have members of parliament here, including the two brothers, Eduardo and Flávio Bolsonaro. It’s great to see you from Brazil. We have many parliamentarians, distinguished members, I want to welcome everyone and I hope to meet everyone.
The image of the senator’s proximity to the Israeli prime minister is seen by those around him as an electoral asset and as a way of presenting him as an interlocutor on state issues.
Parallel to the political agenda, the senator followed a script with a strong religious charge. Over the weekend, he was baptized in the Jordan River, in a ceremony accompanied by his wife and a pastor. For allies, the gesture reinforces Flávio’s public identity and connection with Christian voters.
The international programming does not end in Israel. Flávio will head to Bahrain, between January 28th and February 2nd, and then to the United Arab Emirates, from February 3rd to 6th. Interlocutors speak in conversations with authorities and businesspeople in the region, in an attempt to expand the discourse on economic and strategic cooperation.
Behind the scenes of the PL, the change is read as part of a broader effort to internally consolidate Flávio’s name. To GLOBO, senator Rogério Marinho (PL-RN), who took over the coordination of the pre-campaign, stated that he hopes that this will be “the last time” that Flávio needs to leave the country in the current political circumstances, signaling that the party is working to stabilize the scenario and concentrate the senator on the domestic board.
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— He’s going to travel the country. São Paulo, Rio, Minas are the largest electoral schools. I think there can be a kick-off there, but it will be submitted to him. Let’s still talk, nothing is ready, nothing is certain yet.
Despite the external offensive, Flávio still faces resistance among parties in the center and regional leaders who do not see him, at this moment, as a naturally unifying name for the conservative camp. By investing in external agendas and images alongside foreign leaders, the strategy is to add stature and reinforce the idea that he could occupy the Planalto with his own international agenda.
