Welcome to the new era of shorter governing cycles.

Many people were surprised—especially the coalition partners—by José Manuel Bolieiro’s declaration that the coalition would come to an end in 2028, even though two years remain in the current term of government.

The PSD-Açores leader’s political “tacticide” has a straightforward explanation. It is rooted in the conviction that the coalition has run its course, no longer enjoys credibility among the population, and that this reality has been confirmed by opinion studies commissioned by the parties themselves.

This abbreviated governing cycle, in contrast to the long periods of absolute power once enjoyed by both the PSD and the Socialist Party, should not come as a surprise. The political ecosystem of the Azores underwent a profound structural transformation beginning in October 2020, marked by the end of the era of stable absolute majorities and the shortening of governing cycles.

Party fragmentation and the resulting erosion of traditional institutions have created a new paradigm of governance in the archipelago. The dispersal of the vote has permanently altered the mechanics of the Regional Parliament.

With the decline of the two-party system, the emergence of new political forces, the weakening of traditional parties, and the absence of deep structural reforms, the region is likely to experience increasing governmental instability. The survival of future administrations will depend upon complex coalitions and fragile parliamentary arrangements.

Compounding this reality is the growing lack of public confidence in the political system, generating a crisis of representation throughout the region. This crisis has been fueled by the continued conduct of traditional political elites, some of whom appear to lack any genuine ideological or programmatic agenda beyond inflaming minority constituencies through populism and insular rivalries.

For a long time, the primary concern of the traditional parties has been the preservation of political clienteles and the maintenance of power, often taking precedence over addressing the real problems facing Azoreans. The result has been institutional erosion and the capture of public structures for partisan purposes.

Fifty years later, the distance between governors and governed continues to widen. That gap has now reached critical levels, driven by systemic ethical failures, while public dissatisfaction increasingly manifests itself through electoral abstention and the rejection of the political system itself.

The political future of the Azores will require an urgent rethinking of governing practices if public trust is to be restored.

Without a profound ethical regeneration of the traditional parties and without the ability to build broad consensus in an increasingly fragmented political landscape, the region risks entering a prolonged cycle of political paralysis—one that could undermine socioeconomic development and weaken the effectiveness of regional autonomy itself.

It is within this context that the largest party in government now seeks to present itself to voters as the alternative to the very coalition it helped create.

Even if the current electoral arithmetic remains unchanged in future elections, there are those within the PSD who believe that a governing majority could be secured through parliamentary agreements with Chega and either the Liberal Initiative (IL) or PAN, thereby dispensing with the remaining coalition partners.

The Social Democrats took two years to reach this conclusion—much as the government took two years to realize it had mishandled the SATA privatization process; two years to recognize its mistakes in the recovery of the Ponta Delgada Hospital; two years to acknowledge the errors committed in the tourism sector; two years to reassess its relationship with the Government of the Republic; and two years to admit that the coalition itself had become exhausted.

As punishment, it now faces two years of political purgatory until 2028. The Socialist Party and Chega understood earlier that it is more advantageous to leave this sack of quarrelling cats simmering over a low flame than to bring down the government now.

And we, the taxpayers and citizens of the Azores, will be left carrying the cross.

Osvaldo Cabral
June 2026

Osvaldo Cabral is an emeritus journalist with over 40 years of experience covering the Azores. He was the director of RTP-A (the public television station) and the Diário dos Açores newspaper. He is a regular columnist for many newspapers throughout the Azpres and the Diaspora.

NOVIDADES will feature occasional opinion pieces from various leading thinkers and writers in the Azores, providing the diaspora and those interested in the current state of the Azores with insight into the diverse opinions on some of the archipelago’s key issues.