The agreement negotiated with the help of Carlos Moedas lasted just 10 days
At issue is a disagreement between Daniel Gonçalves, president of the Avenidas Novas council, and three members of the PSD. The agreement negotiated with the help of Carlos Moedas collapsed just 10 days later.
The political crisis in the Avenidas Novas Parish Council worsened this week, after an understanding agreement signed just 10 days earlier between the council’s president, Daniel Gonçalvesand three PSD members.
The understanding, promoted through the mediation of the party’s local leadership and the mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, was intended to to put an end to an internal conflict that has dragged on since the municipal elections. However, according to reports, the agreement quickly collapsed.
The memorandum, signed on April 30, provided for the granting of portfolios to members Hugo de Sousa, Odília Vieira and Jorge Barata, all social democratic activists. However, Daniel Gonçalves describes the agreement as a “palace coup” and accuses the three elected officials of having used these skills to block the joint from functioning. According to the mayor, the members issued unilateral orders that suspended administrative procedures and created a situation of “institutional blockade”, making it impossible to maintain the agreement.
The three members reject the accusations and hold the president responsible for the rupture. In response, they claim that Daniel Gonçalves tried to impose a review of the memorandum that would force them to approve hiring of service providers appointed by the board president himself. Elected officials say they refused to “sign with a cross” on decisions related to public procurement, citing concerns about legality and transparency.
The members also denounced alleged family favors and accuse the president of having tried to move forward with the hiring your own grandson for functions on the board, a proposal that ended up not moving forward. The grandson of another PSD member will also be working in the legal office without a known contractual relationship, in addition to the direct hiring of a financial director whose appointment had previously been rejected by the executive, the three accuse.
The tension intensified after the members managed to approve a drastic reduction of the autonomous contracting limit from the president of the board, going from 75 thousand to 5000 euros without the need for executive approval. The measure was interpreted by Daniel Gonçalves as an attempt to limit his political and administrative action.
Faced with the impasse, internal discussions began to emerge about the possibility of mid-term elections in Avenidas Novasalthough neither party officially accepts this solution. The president of the PSD/Lisbon council, Ricardo Mexia, called for dialogue and considered that new elections would be harmful to customers and the PSD/CDS/IL coalition.
The current crisis is the result of internal divisions in the PSD that date back to the pre-election period, when Daniel Gonçalves accused the former leader of the Lisbon district, Luís Newton, of alter candidate lists without their consent. Since then, the parish executive has lived under a permanent climate of political instability.
