In a reaction to the electoral results of the elections in Madeira from the PS headquarters in Lisbon, the socialist leader pointed out that, despite the victory without an absolute majority, "the PSD has its worst result ever".

Pedro Nuno considered that the PS, which came in second place with the same number of deputies as in the last elections, "continues to be an unavoidable political force" in that region.

Questioned about the statements of the leader of the PS/Madeira, Paulo Cafôfo, that the socialists are available to dialogue and build alternative governments to the PSD, Pedro Nuno Santos refused to interfere in this matter and stressed respect for regional autonomy.

"It is never good to be systematically in elections, but there must be stability. Whoever manages to have a majority governs", he replied, declining to make any judgment on possible PS coalitions to govern.

According to the PS leader, "on the right there is confusion at the national level and also in Madeira".

"We wish and we are expectant that a solution of governability can be found in this fragmented parliamentary framework in Madeira that can guarantee some political stability to the autonomous region of Madeira", he said, in a statement that began with a greeting to all the people of Madeira, the other parties and particularly the PS.

Pedro Nuno Santos confirmed to journalists that he had already spoken "several times with the leader of the PS/Madeira", but reiterated, despite the insistence of the journalists, that in these elections there is a "basic principle": "The national PS and its secretary-general do not interfere in the solutions that may arise from the parliamentary configuration that we have".

"I will not be part of any negotiation, I will not be part of any regional dialogue and therefore I cannot be speculating about possibilities of governance in Madeira", he emphasized.

The question of regional autonomy "is not a screen behind which" the national PS hides, assured Pedro Nuno Santos.

"The PS maintained the same number of deputies, had more votes than in the previous elections and our main adversary had its worst result ever. Obviously we would have preferred to have won the elections, but we register the strength that the PS/Madeira maintains in the Madeira region", he replied.

The PS leader also took advantage of this statement to respond to Luís Montenegro and his Government, considering that what we continue to witness "is great arrogance on the part of those who have the same deputies" as the PS in the Assembly of the Republic.

Considering that it is not with arrogance that one achieves "whatever", for Pedro Nuno Santos "the most important thing is the policies that are being presented", reiterating the criticism of the PSD/CDS-PP executive for governing "for a minority of the population" and stressing that "with each package of measures that the AD presents, it distances itself further from the PS".

The PSD won the early regional legislative elections in Madeira on Sunday, failing by five deputies to obtain an absolute majority, when all the parishes have been counted, according to provisional official data.

According to information provided by the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Internal Administration, the social democrats obtained 36.13% of the votes and 19 seats in the regional parliament, consisting of a total of 47 deputies.

In second place, the PS obtained 11 elected officials, followed by the JPP, with nine, the Chega, with four, the CDS-PP, with two, and the IL and the PAN, with one deputy each. The BE and the CDU left the Legislative Assembly, in relation to the previous composition.

An absolute majority requires 24 seats.

[News updated at 00:31]

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