PSD's Last-Ditch Effort to Avoid Clash with President Marcelo Fails

PSD Attempts to Reach Agreement with PS on President's Veto

In a last-ditch effort to prevent an open conflict with President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Hugo Soares, the parliamentary leader and secretary-general of the PSD, sought to determine if the PS party, led by Pedro Nuno Santos, would accept the President's veto regarding the new map of freguesias. However, the response from the socialists was clear: no.

On the evening of February 12, President Marcelo formally announced his veto of the decree from the Assembly of the Republic, which aimed to disaggregate 135 unions of freguesias, citing doubts about the capacity to implement the new map before the upcoming local elections.

This decision caught local officials and parliamentary parties by surprise, especially since earlier in January, President Marcelo had hinted at avoiding a veto scenario. With the decision made, the Parliament faced two options: confront the President and reconfirm the decree or heed Marcelo's recommendation.

Any decision hinged on a consensus between the socialists and social democrats. The PS quickly announced it would maintain its support for the decree, leaving the final decision to the PSD. In response, Hugo Soares requested more time to deliberate, emphasizing the need for a calm and serious approach.

Despite previous doubts raised by Soares regarding the legality of the disaggregation process and its implications within an election year, he ultimately announced that the PSD would indeed reconfirm the decree, taking into account the expectations of the populations involved who saw the initial project approved.

While the PSD voted in favor of the decree, the path to this decision was not without its challenges, reflecting the complexities of political maneuvering in Portugal's current landscape.