The former Minister of Internal Administration (Interior) of Portugal José Luis Carneiro, who held the position during the last government of Antonio Costa (2022-2024), was proclaimed on Saturday as the new general secretary of the Socialist Party (PS), after the celebration between yesterday and today of internal elections.
The PS reported in his networks of the confirmation of Carneiro, who was the only candidate who has postulated to the position, as the successor of Pedro Nuno Santos who resigned after the batacazo suffered by the party in the legislative elections of May, where he lost 20 deputies and was first relegated in his history to third force in Parliament.
The formation announced the choice of Carneiro one hour to conclude the vote, at 22.00 local time (21.00 GMT time), where, according to media, the former minister would have obtained the 95.4 % of support in internal elections where 17,125 people have voted.
In a speech from the headquarters of the PS, in Lisbon, Carneiro outlined its priorities, the first to hold a convention between the end of August and early September to prepare the municipal elections of the next fall.
At the national level, he said that “the PS will fully assume its responsibilities”: “We are open to work in the reinforcement of democratic consensus that are essential for the country,” He remarked Carneiro, who expressed his willingness to have “weighting” and “constructive spirit” to solve problems.
The new PS leader recalled that they are now “Opposition to government” of Centrodécha del Prime Minister Luís Montenegro and anticipated that he will do so in a form “Loyal, responsible, firm and strategic.”
“This government seems that it threatens citizens in several fundamental domains, it seems that it wants to weaken the social state, it seems that they want to open a path to business in social functions, abdicate a solid economic policy, does not protect research and science, devalue innovation, ignore culture, confuses the reform of the State with the weakening of the State”he listed.
Given this situation, he anticipated that his party will use “all inspection instruments” that are wrong, unfair or unjustified.
53, Carneiro represents the moderate and centrist wing of PS. In the past, He was Minister of Internal Administration between 2022 and 2024, and Secretary of State for Portuguese communities during the first coastal government (2015-2019).
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Also He was deputy and mayor of Baião (North), municipality where he was born, and within the PS he was deputy general secretary between 2019 and 2022.
It is not the first time that Carneiro runs primaries to lead his party, since in 2023 he did it and was defeated by Santos, of the PS left wing, after the resignation of Costa as Prime Minister in November of that year for alleged irregularities.