Just another leftist presidential candidate, I promise!

The Portuguese Communist Party supports António Filipe. The Left Bloc will support Catarina Martins. Livre decides this week whether it will support its deputy Jorge Pinto. Three parties that, together, obtained less than 9% in the last legislative elections are preparing to present three candidates for an election that can only be won by someone who, in the first or second round, convinces 50% of Portuguese people plus one. It seems to me to be a winning strategy, taking into account that, since 2001, there has not been a single victory for the PSD left in the presidential elections. As the presidential elections will take place in the cold of January, it is possible that the high number of candidacies could be caused by the fear that one of the candidates will catch a cold during the campaign.

There are those who run for President of the Republic just to show up. Catarina Martins, on the other hand, is running for her party not to disappear. Left-wing parties are convinced that presidential elections are like a football championship. They believe that if they have bad results in the first round there is still a play-off for a last chance to ensure maintenance.

I don’t know if one candidate for each left-wing party is enough. I suggest you reflect on the following idea: each of the left-wing parties presented three candidates for the presidential elections. The Bloc was running for Catarina Martins, Francisco Louçã and Joana Mortágua; the PCP was going to fight with António Filipe, João Ferreira and Paulo Raimundo and Livre tried to elect Jorge Pinto, Rui Tavares and Isabel Mendes Lopes. Since they compete for 9% of the votes, perhaps they could get 1% each. That way, no one was sad.

There is, however, good news for the ambitions of these parties: the candidate of the largest center-left party is not left-wing. António José Seguro was interviewed by Público and was asked three times if he was a leftist. “Why are they trying to keep me in drawers?” replied the candidate. Really, the audacity of journalists. Wanting to draw an ideological profile of a politician running for election? Rascals. Seguro doesn’t want to be stored in drawers, especially because it’s been on a shelf for too long.

Ventura usually venturizes legislative branches; Gouveia e Melo gouveia-e-melizado the presidential elections. Now, no one is left or right, they are all in favor of “solving people’s problems”, that great current of political thought. António José Seguro wants to convey the image of a candidate who is in favor of everything. However, this interview proves that there is one thing he is opposed to. At least, Insurance is against all risks.