"Our principle is that after the elections we will not make government coalitions with any party, not with the PSD, nor with any other party", he said, emphasizing, however, that the centrists are "willing to talk to everyone in the regional parliament" to "give political stability to Madeira" and approve the Budget. José Manuel Rodrigues, also president of the regional Legislative Assembly, a position he has held since 2019 within the scope of the PSD/CDS-PP executive, now in management, was speaking to journalists during a gathering with supporters of the candidacy, in a restaurant on the outskirts of Funchal. The candidate said that, during the campaign, he has tried to convey the message that, once the coalition with the social democrats is broken, the electorate will find in the CDS-PP a party that is "credible, competent and with proven experience in serving Madeira and the Madeirans". "The CDS is a safe haven for those who are angry with the disorientation and blunders of the PSD, for those who are dissatisfied with the internal divisions of the Socialist Party, which never asserts itself as an alternative to anything, and for those who are also fed up with the demagogy of Chega and also a little tired of the populism of the JPP", he explained. José Manuel Rodrigues also said that the centrist candidacy campaign is "based on proposals and solutions for the people of Madeira and Porto Santo", as he believes that "people are tired of accusations between parties, of petty issues, and want problems to be discussed and solutions to be presented". "I appeal to all those who have ever voted for the CDS to once again trust their vote in the CDS-PP, because here is a party that has proven to be competent in the opposition and was competent in the Government and this capital accumulated from these two experiences is very important for the post-May 26", he said. The Madeira legislative elections are taking place with 14 candidacies competing for the 47 seats in the regional parliament, in a single electoral constituency: ADN, BE, PS, Livre, IL, RIR, CDU (PCP/PEV), Chega, CDS-PP, MPT, PSD, PAN, PTP and JPP. The early elections take place eight months after the most recent regional legislative elections, after the President of the Republic dissolved the Madeiran parliament, following the political crisis triggered in January, when the leader of the Regional Government (PSD/CDS-PP), Miguel Albuquerque, was named a defendant in a process in which suspicions of corruption are being investigated. In September 2023, the PSD/CDS coalition won without an absolute majority and elected 23 deputies. The PS won 11, the JPP five, Chega four, while the CDU, the IL, the PAN (which signed an agreement on parliamentary incidence with the social democrats) and the BE obtained one mandate each. Read Also: PTP says it "is a cat that hunts rats" unlike other parties (Portuguese version)