"For us, it is an honor to have the national leader here," he said, referring to the PS secretary-general, Pedro Nuno Santos, who on Saturday participated in campaign activities for the socialist candidacy for the legislative elections of May 26, accompanied by the party's leading candidate for the European elections, Marta Temido. Paulo Cafôfo, who was speaking to journalists during a campaign event near the Boa Nova church in Funchal, highlighted the hospitality of the Madeirans, stressing that this happened with the national leader of the PS, whose presence in the region was also a demonstration of "unquestionable support for the PS/Madeira". "But, more than the unquestionable support for the PS/Madeira, it is the respect and consideration that they have for the Madeirans and for Madeira," he said, and then reinforced: "This did not happen with the national leader [of the PSD] Luís Montenegro, who is ashamed to come here to the region, because he does not want to be associated with Miguel Albuquerque." The socialist candidate also reacted to the fact that Albuquerque - the leading candidate for the social democrats and president of the PSD/CDS-PP executive in management - had undervalued Pedro Nuno Santos' visit to the region by saying that "the Socialist Party is the one that always needs crutches, it needs the crutches of Lisbon". "I don't understand this crutch thing," he said, recalling that the PSD's national leader was at the last annual PSD/Madeira party, in Chão da Lagoa, and also in the last regional elections, on September 24, 2023. Paulo Cafôfo stressed that on the part of the PS it is not a question of crutches, but of solidarity and confidence in the socialist project for the autonomous region. "In this matter, I would say that we do not receive lessons from absolutely anyone and we are consistent, unlike Miguel Albuquerque, who is not consistent at all, because when Montenegro came here it was not a crutch and now Pedro Nuno Santos comes and it is already a crutch," he said. In the campaign event near the Boa Nova church, after the mass, the members of the PS candidacy distributed many gerberas, ballpoint pens and pamphlets, at a time when PSD supporters were also at the site distributing propaganda material. "What we have here is a Socialist Party united and cohesive in the necessary change, in turning the page on 48 years of power [of the PSD], because we cannot continue to be the poorest region in the country," said Paulo Cafôfo, stressing that the social democrats cannot say that the fault is with others because they have always been governing the archipelago. The leading socialist candidate warned about the 70,000 Madeirans at risk of poverty, stressing that many are elderly people with very low pensions, and reaffirmed the commitment to grant a regional supplement for the elderly in the amount of 150 euros per month, considering that the impact on the Budget will not be significant. "The PS's priorities are different from the PSD's priorities. I'm talking about two million and 400 thousand euros here. Now, in a land where we have 33 million euros in government positions per year, two million and 400 I would say is money well invested in people who have given so much, worked so hard," he said. 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 indicted 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, the Chega four, while the CDU, the IL, the PAN (which signed a parliamentary incidence agreement with the social democrats) and the BE obtained one mandate each. There are now 14 candidacies competing for the 47 seats in the regional parliament: ADN, BE, PS, Livre, IL, RIR, CDU (PCP/PEV), Chega, CDS-PP, MPT, PSD, PAN, PTP and JPP.

Leia Também: Pedro Nuno Santos responsabiliza PSD pelo nível de pobreza na Madeira (Portuguese version)