As a new parliamentary year begins, the Socialist leader argues that his party must move beyond traditional opposition, present concrete solutions to the problems facing the archipelago and seek agreements with the Regional Government on issues where political consensus can serve the Azores.
There are political seasons in which opposition is measured by the force of its criticism, and others in which credibility depends upon what it can build beyond that criticism. Francisco César wants the PS/Azores to enter the new parliamentary year in the second spirit. Speaking in Ponta Delgada at the opening of the Socialist Parliamentary Days, the party leader argued that the PS should define itself less as a conventional opposition force and more as a political organization capable of constructing proposals—and ultimately presenting itself as an alternative government. “The Socialist Party must establish itself as the party building a political alternative for the Azores,” he said.
César’s argument begins with a sharply critical assessment of the current Regional Government, although the claims reflect the Socialist Party’s political interpretation of regional conditions. He pointed to successive declines in tourism indicators and air travel, difficulties affecting agriculture and fisheries, debts he says remain owed to producers, falling milk prices and weaker consumption. More broadly, he described an Azorean economy that is “practically stagnant,” arguing that the archipelago risks standing still while Portugal and Europe move forward. He also identified housing affordability, fuel prices, public transportation and the broader cost of living as pressures increasingly felt by families.
Yet the central message of his intervention was that identifying problems is no longer sufficient. “It is necessary to act,” César said, calling for concrete Socialist proposals on fuel costs, assistance with the food basket and support for students, while also demanding measures for the productive sectors. In agriculture and fisheries, he placed particular emphasis on settling what the PS says are outstanding government payments. For César, this should become the defining characteristic of the party’s parliamentary work: Azoreans must see not simply a party opposed to the government, but one “building solutions in favor of the Azoreans.”
That distinction is politically important. An opposition party demonstrates dissatisfaction; an alternative must demonstrate readiness. César appears to be positioning the PS for that second task—using parliamentary proposals not only to scrutinize the governing PSD/CDS-PP/PPM coalition but also to show what a different governing program might look like. It is an attempt to transform criticism into an argument for political competence: to say not merely that existing policies are inadequate, but that another course can be articulated.
At the same time, César left room for cooperation with the Regional Government on matters he considers structural. He cited reform of access to the Regional Public Administration as an example of a Socialist proposal that received government support. In his view, such reform can strengthen confidence that entry into public service is based on merit rather than partisan connections. Education is another area in which the PS says it is prepared to seek common ground. “There are matters in which people will not understand the two largest parties turning their backs on one another,” César argued.
That willingness to negotiate does not erase the political divide. Rather, César is proposing a dual role for the Socialists during the coming year: opposition where disagreement is necessary, cooperation where regional interests permit it, and policy construction throughout. If the government is prepared to negotiate, he said, the PS will sit at the table; if not, the Socialists will continue presenting their proposals and allow Parliament to determine who supports them.
For the PS/Azores, the challenge will be converting that language of construction into policies sufficiently clear for voters to judge. For the Regional Government, the coming parliamentary year will test whether consensus can be reached without dissolving legitimate political differences.
And for the Azores, perhaps the larger question is simpler. In a period marked by pressures on household budgets, productive sectors and public services, politics will eventually be measured not by who speaks most forcefully across the parliamentary chamber, but by what solutions emerge from it.
Based on a story in Correio dos Açores-Natalino Viveiros, dirrecto. Photos from PS-Açores and the CA newspaper.