The president of , , stated that his party will not use the presidential candidacy that it promises to launch in April to attack the government (PT), in which it holds three ministries.
Secretary of Government of (Republicanos-SP), the politician received the Sheet in his apartment this Wednesday morning (28), in the same environment where he had caused an earthquake in the center-right the day before.
Kassab had announced the governor’s (-GO) affiliation with the PSD, alongside the state heads of the party (RS) and . (PR). Everyone agreed that one presidential candidate would emerge from the trio, depending on position in polls and other factors.
“This is different”, insisted Kassab, faced with the natural incredulity surrounding the project, as always seen in the political world as a way of keeping options open. The nod to Lula and the freedom he announced for people to stay in government if they want reinforce the impression.
Against her there is the unprecedented alliance of the three governors and the chief’s accounts. He sees a unified candidacy with perhaps the same 20% that he estimates for the name launched in the right-wing camp by the former president, Flávio, both from PL.
In the second round, he believes, the electorate of one will migrate mostly to the other against Lula. Maintaining the established split, Kassab stressed that he considers Flávio competitive. He promised a moderate candidacy, far from “radical left and right” proposals.
Only one would cancel Kassab’s plans, who for the first time said that it would be “a privilege” to run for deputy governor with his boss, giving fuel to the version that he would like to try for government while in office in 2030 — assuming re-election and a presidential plan from the governor.
For the PSD, he foresees progress in October, reflecting the spread of the acronym, which elected almost 900 mayors in 2024 and today has around 1,300. He believes in 6 to 10 viable, an increase in the number of deputies from 47 to perhaps 80 and the maintenance of 14 senators.
Mr. wished Flávio and the PSD “good luck”. Is this a challenge for the center-right, as the electorate will be divided, or is it time to separate itself from Bolsonarism?
It is not a question of separating because in the first round they will be different projects, but they can be together in the second. With the three [Ratinho Jr., Caiado e Leite] in a party that will give them support, the candidate could have 15%, 20%.
It’s also competitive, let’s not deny it. So, whichever of the two goes to the second round will have support from those who don’t, and will become competitive against Lula.
Bolsonarism is worn out. Like mr. Do you see the impact of his association with the traditional right?
Between mistakes and successes, we could talk for hours, but let’s talk about Flávio. All research is giving it around 20%, which is a lot.
Before the 2022 election, if that time the PSD’s presidential candidacy was for real. And now?
In fact, in 2022 we made a lot of effort so that Rodrigo Pacheco [MG] was the candidate, but he was convinced that it was better to stay in the Senate. We invited Eduardo Leite, he even accepted, so much so that he reached , but then he backed down.
This one is different. We are not looking for a candidate, we have three who want to be. Very highly rated governors, with eight years of office behind them. And it was all on their initiative, it wasn’t something from the party. The one who is in the best condition will be the candidate, we will define it in April.
Will one of them be the other’s deputy?
It could be, but it wasn’t discussed. There may be a pure plate.
The three governors are critical, with different degrees, of the Lula government, which the PSD is part of. What will the campaign speech be like? Are they going to talk bad, hit Lula?
I think the most important thing is to have a project for Brazil. Initially, there is no candidacy against, it is in favor of Brazil. A moderate candidacy, which can be a counterpoint to a more radical left-wing proposal and a more radical right-wing proposal.
There is no point in not being critical, otherwise it is better to support the government. It is clear that there are criticisms and disagreements. But the focus is to show that there is a well-structured party with excellent personnel to lead the country.
Will the PSD continue with the Lula government in the campaign?
The PSD had no candidate. Here in , my committee belonged to Tarcísio, who also had Bolsonaro. In Minas, Alexandre Silveira was a candidate for senator on President Lula’s ticket.
So, the participation of some of our states in the government is due to their participation in the campaign. . We did not participate in the nomination, nor will we participate in the exit.
Mr. I have already said that I would support Tarcísio for governor or president. Is this maintained with this new configuration?
It doesn’t make sense [manter uma candidatura do PSD com o governador buscando a Presidência] because Tarcísio the president would be a union of forces, and the PSD would be together.
Speaking of Tarcísio, he will visit Bolsonaro in jail. Mr. Do you see political harm to him due to this?
Look, Tarcísio was a minister under President Bolsonaro, who designed his candidacy for governor. Tarcísio’s victory would not have existed without Bolsonaro’s leadership. So, this recognition of him reveals his character.
In relation to Bolsonaro, is he another toxic asset or does he have electoral weight?
It is clear that Bolsonaro has a very significant electoral asset, due to Flávio’s very presence in the polls.
If Tarcísio is a candidate for re-election, Mr. Would you agree to be your vice?
When you join an alliance, the governor is the leader. It is up to him to define the party’s participation. For someone who has the history I have in public life, it would be a privilege, but I understand that the governor will be the one who will make the arrangements.
And in the case of , Mr. Does it go to the state government?
It’s a little different there, and it’s quite possible that the PSD wants to have a candidate. The party is entitled to this aspiration. I say again that it would be a very great privilege, but that question has not been asked.
Mr. he had been saying that he would leave the government to take care of the campaign. Now there has been a restructuring in the political area of the government, in the Civil House. Mr. You have already denied differences with him, but has anything changed now?
Arthur Lima is a person very close to the governor and . We never had any problems. With the exchange, we will continue working. This is a question [a permanência no governo] I’m still going to talk to the governor.
Like mr. evaluate the conditions of Lula’s candidacy?
A government always has difficulties in re-election because it cannot provide all the answers that society needs. I think it was because I was unable to promote a reduction in the State’s costs.
There was an increase in the tax burden, a lot, not always generating revenue. We have news of many companies going to Paraguay, to Uruguay, because they want to pay less taxes.
Would this be a flag for the eventual PSD campaign?
One of our slogans will be the reduction of the State, the cost of the State. You can do this by first fighting corruption. Administrative reform can also promote this. Another very important issue is transparency.
And in politics?
It is necessary to implement mixed district voting to monitor who is elected. We have to discuss parliamentary amendments. It’s shocking that you see some parliamentarians, it’s fundamental. There is a lack of greater rigor with social organizations, and regulatory agencies need to be depoliticized.
It is also time to discuss the end of re-election and the issue of term time for higher courts. I believe this is not the way [no caso do Judiciário]but the minimum age of 60 and quarantine.
Mr. Do you see room for an electoral surprise, an influencer, in the style of Pablo Marçal in São Paulo?
In Brazil, every day has surprises. But you know, Marçal didn’t appear overnight, he had been a candidate for deputy. Now we’re at that point below the launch pad, and I don’t see anyone else wanting to go up that ramp.
The year begins with an unprecedented institutional ramification. Like mr. see this, is there any possible electoral impact, as in the most anti-system speech?
Sometimes some leaders, in any Power, resist transparency. Today there is total transparency in the world, it is very difficult for anything to be omitted. Given this, society wants there to be an investigation, but I will not be frivolous and make value judgments. That there be a fair and efficient investigation. The main themes of the election will hardly be anything other than the fight against corruption, health, education and security.
X-RAY
Gilberto Kassab, 65
Economist and civil engineer, Kassab was Secretary of Planning of São Paulo (1997-8, Celso Pitta, PPB and PTN government), federal deputy (1999-2005), vice-mayor (2005-6, José Serra government, PSDB) and mayor (2006-13) of São Paulo, minister of Cities (government of Dilma Rousseff, PT, 2015-16) and of Science and Technology (Michel Temer government, MDB, 2016-18). He was from PL, PFL, DEM and, in 2011, founded the PSD, which he presides over. He is Secretary of Government for the state of São Paulo (Tacísio de Freitas administration, Republicans).
