Local elections: Drama in the PS candidacy in Sintra

José Luís Carneiro had barely landed in Brussels, coming from the meeting with the Socialists and Social Democrats (S&D) group, and he already had a fire to put out in Sintra. The crisis was between the candidate Ana Mendes Godinho and the local council which, according to VISÃO, was not happy with the agreement signed with Livre, which foresees giving fifth place on the list for the Council to Rui Tavares' party and two eligible seats in the Municipal Assembly.

Ana Mendes Godinho has even threatened to not run as a candidate if she could not freely choose her lists. A socialist source explains to VISÃO that the candidate, chosen during Pedro Nuno Santos' time, believes that adding the approximately 12 thousand votes that Livre will have in the municipality is essential, if not to win, at least to avoid falling behind Chega, which has the very popular Rita Matias as its candidate.

Contacted by VISÃO, Ana Mendes Godinho did not want to make any comment, but a meeting has already been scheduled at the PS Federation of the Lisbon Urban Area to discuss the issue.

The solution should be for the PS leadership to take over the local government process in Sintra, thus allowing Ana Mendes Godinho to bypass the council. The process could, however, open wounds between the local structure and the candidate.

A tough battle for the PS

The election in Sintra, where Basílio Horta (elected by the PS) is serving his last term, will not be easy for the socialists. Marco Almeida – who appears well placed to win in the PSD's internal polls – managed to close a deal with the IL which, if we look at the results of the last legislative elections, could in theory add around 13 thousand more votes to the social democrats.

Marco Almeida had entered into a collision course with the PSD, after Pedro Passos Coelho had chosen Pedro Pinto as his candidate. Almeida was the number two of the then Mayor of Sintra, Fernando Seara, and was seen as the natural successor to the mayor who left his post to run for Lisbon, suffering a heavy defeat.

At that time, the PSD also lost Sintra and the PS took what is one of the largest councils in the country, thanks to Basílio Horta, but also to Marco Almeida, who divided the electorate, with an independent candidacy that was tied in number of councillors with the socialists, but which had fewer votes, allowing Basílio to make a governance agreement with the CDU that gave him the majority to govern in the first term.

This time, Marco Almeida is the orange candidate and takes Fernando Seara as the head of the list for the Municipal Assembly.

Chega was the most voted force in the legislative elections

Added to this scenario is the fact that Rita Matias is Chega's candidate. Very popular on social media and among younger people, the deputy is a strong bet for André Ventura, who could change the situation.

It should be remembered that Chega was the most voted party in the municipality of Sintra in the legislative elections of May 18, with 52,868 votes, corresponding to 26.07% of the vote, above the 24.78% achieved by Luís Montenegro's AD. The PS remained at 23.81%, being the third most voted force.