The president of the PSD, announced this Wednesday afternoon (25) that he left management to dedicate himself to the elections. Kassab has held the Government Secretariat since January 2023.
“Given the intense activities in the partisan and electoral fields that appear in the 2026 political calendar, with elections for president, governors, senators and deputies in October, my role as Secretary of Government and Institutional Relations of the State of São Paulo becomes incompatible with my political and electoral activity during this period”, he wrote on social media.
Tarcísio and Kassab’s relationship went through strain at the beginning of the year. The governor was uncomfortable with the secretary’s actions to expand his own party, mass joining mayors and deputies from other parties within the government’s base and creating problems of stability and political articulation for the administration.
The impression, according to Tarcísio’s allies, was that Kassab prioritized party action to the detriment of the government. However, there was no break between the two.
This week, the secretary is involved in choosing the PSDB’s pre-candidate for President. On Tuesday (24), he received the governor of Goiás, Ronaldo Caiado (PSD), to discuss the topic. This Wednesday, the governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite (PSD), who is also in the running, will meet with the party president.
“I thank Governor Tarcísio for the privilege I had with the opportunity to join his secretariat to, at his side, contribute to this important mission, doing my best to achieve the government’s objectives”, wrote Kassab.
The president of the PSD during the 2022 electoral campaign. People close to the two claim that the then minister of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) needed guidance from someone who knew the state well.
This is because, according to members of São Paulo politics, even though the PL supported Tarcísio’s election, its president, Valdemar Costa Neto, worked for the re-election of Rodrigo Garcia (no party). At the same time, Tarcísio also did not have the expected engagement from the Republicans, his own party.
Kassab filled this vacuum and, as a result, the vice-president position was occupied by a member of his party, Felício Ramuth. When Tarcísio won, the president of the PSD was awarded the Government secretariat, responsible for controlling the budget for amendments and agreements, and the party began to command other secretariats.
In recent months, Kassab began working to be nominated as Tarcísio’s vice-president in the next elections, but, amid friction with the president, he was unsuccessful. , the governor decided to keep Ramuth in office.
