The Socialist Party (PS) candidate for the Madeira regional elections, Paulo Cafôfo, denied any understanding with Chega on Tuesday and guaranteed that he will "never" make any coalition with the party to reach power. "The PS has a 'no entry' sign for Chega," he assured. In statements to CNN Portugal, Cafôfo considered that the PS does not identify with "what are the principles and values" of Chega and criticized his opponent Miguel Albuquerque, for whom he considers that "anything goes." "He is willing to stay in power and make connections with everyone," he said. The leader of the socialists in Madeira also said that the president of Chega, André Ventura, and Miguel Albuquerque have "a friendship that goes back a long way." "The truth is that after the elections, after May 26, if there is a need to join forces, as they say in Madeira, they will join forces and make a coalition," he said. For Cafôfo, voters "by voting for Chega will be voting for Miguel Albuquerque." The candidate for the regionals also spoke about housing and guaranteed that as mayor of Funchal he was "the only entity that built public housing." "I have proven results, because for me this has always been a necessity," he stressed. "We are here in the Bairro dos Viveiros, but we could be in other neighborhoods here in the city of Funchal, which were actually built by me," said Paulo Cafôfo, in statements to journalists, on the third day of the campaign for the early elections of May 26. At the entrance to the Viveiros housing complex, with several blocks of public housing, visibly almost new, there is a plaque that says that the work was inaugurated on December 14, 2018 by the then mayor, Paulo Cafôfo, now a candidate for president of the Regional Government of Madeira. Accompanied by an entourage of about 30 people, with white and red flags with the PS symbol, the socialist said that housing, even before being seen as the main problem of today, was a priority that he assumed as mayor of Funchal, between 2013 and 2019. "This was a necessity at the time, it is a necessity now, which has increased, because Madeira is effectively one of the regions of the country with the highest prices, both for acquisition and for rent," he said, indicating that the average price to buy a house is 460 thousand euros and to rent is 1,475 euros. "I ask which Madeiran has the money to buy a house or to rent a house? This is the biggest drama that the region has and, for problems, we have to have solutions," he reinforced. One of the PS's proposals is support for the acquisition of the first home, in which the Regional Government ensures "100% financing" so that people can take out the loan without having to make a down payment, which is the biggest difficulty," explained Paulo Cafôfo, adding that, in case of default on the loan payment, a lease contract is established, with the region becoming the owner of the property. To guarantee "housing for all," including the middle class and young people, the candidacy also proposes increasing support for rent, changing the criteria and values provided, as well as reinforcing the construction of public housing by the Regional Government. Cafôfo also recalled the rent support he created and said that he can "do much more for people who do not have housing in a regional government, on another scale." The candidate stressed that "the PS wants to be the government in this region, accused the PSD's top candidate, Miguel Albuquerque, of being "instability in person" and defended "the useful vote in the PS," admitting that victory in these elections is "a dream of the Socialist Party," but considering that it is "also a dream of the majority of Madeirans, because there is a social majority that no longer votes for the PSD." The socialist admitted the possibility of post-election agreements in order to form a government, similar to the gerrymandering that the PS formed at the national level in 2015, without specifying with which parties, but reiterating that "it will never be with Chega." In the Madeira elections, there are 14 candidacies competing for the 47 seats in the regional parliament, in a single electoral district: ADN, BE, PS, Livre, IL, RIR, CDU (PCP/PEV), Chega, CDS-PP, MPT, PSD, PAN, PTP and JPP. The elections take place eight months after the most recent regional 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, Miguel Albuquerque, was made an arguido in a process in which suspicions of corruption are being investigated. In 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, IL, PAN (which signed an agreement for parliamentary incidence with the social democrats) and the BE each obtained one mandate. [News updated at 13:55] Also Read: Madeira. PS diz ter imposto "sentido proibido bem vermelho" ao Chega (Portuguese version)