Center leaders believe that, mainly involving the Bolsonaro family, they make it difficult for the presidential pre-candidate (-RJ) to form alliances and damage the image of moderation that he tries to project.
In recent days, Flávio has seen his brothers publicly attack central figures in the party. The former deputy (PL) the deputy (PL-MG) and the former first lady (PL), while the former councilor (PL) argued with the president of the party, .
These discussions deepened an already difficult climate within the party. Since being chosen by the former president (PL) as a candidate for Planalto, in December, Flávio faces a challenge. The former first lady was kept in the dark during the succession process, but has shown a willingness to participate in the party’s decisions.
According to a leader from the center, Flávio made a mistake in empowering Eduardo when he announced him as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the event of victory. According to this ally, the senator has consolidated himself in the polls precisely because of the limitation of this type of speech, in an attempt to show himself as a more moderate Bolsonaro version.
Three presidents of centrist parties, heard with reservation by the Sheetassess that the Bolsonaro family’s fights hinder negotiations and damage Flávio’s image as a less radical name. A representative of the center places internal disputes as an obstacle to conversations, given the uncertainty about which wing of the PL will win the fight for spaces and candidacies.
Furthermore, there is a demand for Flávio’s greater presence in negotiations in Brazil. The assessment is that the right was too loose while the senator was doing it. He toured the Middle East and Europe and went to the United States.
The senator’s interlocutors claim that he is aware of the problems and returns from the United States this week with the aim of organizing the party to impose hierarchy.
One of his allies assesses that there was a leakage of information, mainly by right-wing leaders who made statements about the formation of platforms. The former president is imprisoned in the unit known as Papudinha, in Brasília, and receives sporadic visits.
According to a person close to Flávio, the senator will take advantage of the next few days to try to bring order to the party. The idea is to make it clear that Bolsonaro chose him as the new captain and that the direction will be given by him. In other words, the senator will try to centralize information and decisions.
At the same time, he acts to mediate internal fights. It contained brother Eduardo against the governor of São Paulo, (Republicans), who was tipped to contest the Planalto. Now, according to interlocutors, he also worked to resolve the former deputy’s dispute with Nikolas Ferreira.
Flávio and Nikolas will be together at the call for next Sunday (1st), in a gesture that aims to signal unity after Eduardo accused the deputy of not dedicating himself to the senator’s pre-campaign. Allies also believe that a resolution of the dispute between Carlos and Valdemar will be possible soon.
Regarding Michelle, allies say that Flávio will take the situation with more caution. The senator’s group considers that the former first lady is frustrated with the process that defined Bolsonaro’s eldest son as a candidate, but they believe that she will embark on the campaign at the right time. The order is to “give it time” and avoid new fights with the family.
A PL leader recognizes that the fight has a negative impact on the campaign, but minimized the situation. For one wing of the party, family rifts are an old film in the Bolsonaro clan, fueled mainly by Eduardo, and Flávio recognizes that he needs Michelle and Nikolas to be elected.
THE CRITIQUES
On Friday (20), Eduardo Bolsonaro stated that Michelle and Nikolas’ support for Flávio is “below what is desirable”. At the time, he stated that Tarcísio, with whom he recently made peace, was an exception.
“Nikolas and Michelle are playing the same game. You see that one, side by side, shares the other and supports the other on the social network, they just have amnesia there. I didn’t see any support from Michelle, no posts in favor of Flávio. She shares Nikolas all the time”, said Eduardo.
Nikolas countered: “We have his father in prison, suffering health difficulties, you have the people from the 8th [de janeiro] trapped and needing to help overturn the veto on [proposta da] dosimetry, you have the STF involved in several scandals, you have Lula doing literally everything to destroy this country and the priority is to attack us. So that says a lot more about him than it does about me.”
Meanwhile, Carlos and Valdemar also argued publicly. The former councilor stated that from the PL to the state governments. The agreement in the acronym, however, was that the former president would have the final say only on candidates for senator.
“We debate everything, but the Senate nominates Bolsonaro. It always has been. We nominate the governors. We all give opinions on everything. It’s normal. We always listen to our partners,” Valdemar responded to Poder360.
Carlos shared the PL president’s statement and countered by raising the theory that his father was being removed from the decision-making process: “It seems to me that things are a little out of whack without wanting to! The pieces all seem to fit together! Leaving the political prisoner isolated and doing what we are seeing in a pronounced way is becoming more and more strange every day…. Strange!”
