The pre-campaign for the Presidency of the senator (-RJ) is still experiencing an impasse around the vice-president and has seen little or no difference, in terms of votes, in the names of allies tested in surveys commissioned by the party.
The discussion also ended up in the background in recent weeks, amid the stress faced by Flávio because of the , the , and the threat to Brazil again.
Parliamentarians involved in the pre-campaign say that the decision is unlikely to be taken before mid-July. The senator must take advantage of the World Cup period to set up all state platforms and unlock alliances with other parties.
In recent months, the PL included in internal polls the names of the senator (PP-MS), the federal deputies Simone Marquetto (PP-SP) and Clarissa Tércio (PP-PE) and the Fortaleza councilor Priscila Costa (PL).
Members of Flávio’s pre-campaign state with reservation that none of the parliamentarians aggregate votes. Despite this, the general assessment is that they also do not hinder his performance and would bring a positive image to the ticket as they are clean records and women.
In the case of Clarissa and Priscila, there would also be a signal to northeastern voters, where the senator faces a disadvantage. Their presence on the ticket would also indicate Flávio’s appreciation for the religious electorate. Clarissa and Priscila are evangelicals; Simone, Catholic.
Flávio’s entourage has insisted on the need for a vice president to provide a counterpoint to the statements made by former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), and try to reduce the segment’s preference for Lula (PT).
According to what was released on Wednesday (10), Lula has 39% of the votes in the first round and Flávio, 29%. Considering only the female electorate, however, the difference is even greater. Lula gets 41% of the votes, while Flávio gets 24%.
“The deadline is August 14th. What I can say is that the profile is of someone who complements our list, a prepared and good person, interested, a woman”, said Flávio during an event organized by Grupo Voto on Monday (8).
On Thursday (11), the impeached federal deputy (PL-SP) included a new name on the list when he publicly defended his older brother’s nomination as deputy.
Eduardo shared a piece of news that said that Flávio had signaled his preference for a Christian woman and wrote: “Congresswoman Julia Zanatta is certainly up to the job, just look at her loyalty, the agendas she defends very well in Congress and, of course, the left’s enthusiasm.”
Later, he also said in a post to influencer Rodrigo Constantino: “I want to see @FlavioBolsonaro president, someone wants to impeach him to get Júlia Zanatta. Now, put in a vice like [Romeu] Zema, who you love so much, to see what it will be like…”
Tereza dismisses the idea of being Flávio’s deputy. Allies of the senator say that her main project is the presidency of the Senate next year. Even so, members of the PL continue to say that, faced with a formal invitation — which never happened —, Tereza may rethink the decision.
She has already been defended for the position by the president of the PL, .
Another factor that has made it difficult to choose a vice president is the lack of support from the centrão and right-wing parties. The president of the Republicans, Marcos Pereira, has already indicated to the PL that the party should not support any of the candidates for president.
The alliance with the federation formed by the PP and União Brasil also remains open. The federation after the audios in which Flávio asks Vorcaro for money. “We are talking to the parties”, says Valdemar.
Two weeks ago, two members of the PL’s hard core suggested that the name of senator Cleitinho (Republicanos-MG) be included in the polls commissioned by the party as Flávio’s vice-president. Cleitinho leads the voting intention polls for the Government of Minas Gerais, but, despite his favoritism, he has told people close to him that .
Asked about Cleitinho’s inclusion in the PL polls, the political coordinator of Flávio’s campaign, senator Rogério Marinho (PL-RN), said he was unaware of the possibility.
Despite Flávio’s insistence on a woman’s name, part of the pre-campaign says that other attributes can also be useful for the ticket. For one of the members, more important than adding votes for the candidate is bringing credibility.
In this sense, he says, the vice-president needs to convince voters that he can assume the Presidency, in the absence of Flávio — something that Lula achieved with Geraldo Alckmin (PSB), for example, in his view. Another important asset, he continues, would be demonstrating preparedness to the business community.
