The “Portuguese Milei” or “Sérgio Sousa Pinto from IL”?

Rui Rocha and his board of directors have resigned after two years and four months as head of the Executive Committee, a period marked by several elections — many more than initially planned when he was first elected as president of the Liberal Initiative.

The goals set out by the current leadership, both during the campaign and in the inauguration speech, have largely remained unfulfilled. They failed to elevate the Liberal Initiative to the role of the deciding factor in Portuguese politics, and they failed to achieve significant influence in the country’s governance — something that would only be possible by achieving the stated goal of 15% of the vote. The goal set out by João Cotrim de Figueiredo when handing over the baton to Rui Rocha, to make the party more “combative, inclusive and popular”, was thwarted by the attempt to moderate liberal ideas. Thus, the image was conveyed of an IL integrated into the system, precisely when people are looking for change and disruption, and are unable to find answers to their problems in the system. Without risk, there was no innovation, and without innovation, there was no growth.

Added to this situation are the failures in the party's internal administration: delays in submitting accounts within the legal deadlines, lack of transparency, and disunity caused by the removal of valid members simply because they belonged to other factions in the internal elections. All of this has resulted in a weakened, disorganized Liberal Initiative that lacks the power to influence the country's governance.

After Cotrim’s departure for the European Parliament, the Liberal Initiative has only one person in the national parliament who is recognized and capable of quickly changing the course that seems doomed: political irrelevance and a 4-6% vote in the legislative elections. Carlos Guimarães Pinto thus holds the key to the immediate future of the IL. If he accepts to lead a candidacy for the party leadership, he will be able to promote internal changes, bring together members and adopt a reformist and ideological discourse, as he has always done. Perhaps, also taking up the “chainsaw”, he will defend cuts with the past and with the burdens that drag the country to the bottom of Europe — which is itself on a downward trajectory. Only in this way will he be able to galvanize those throughout the country who yearn for a viable alternative, with a clear path for Portugal.

Alternatively, Carlos Guimarães Pinto could choose to adopt the stance of Sérgio Sousa Pinto in the PS: tolerated but irrelevant; ignored by the party's official communications , but with enough reach of his own to get his message across to the public. Sitting in the Assembly of the Republic, he watches the ship heading dangerously towards the rocks: he sees the torn sails and the hull taking on water, he hears the warnings of the anxious crew, but he limits himself to commenting on the wrong course and the approaching storm, refusing, however, to take the helm.

The big difference between the two is that a possible candidacy by Sérgio Sousa Pinto as PS secretary-general would not have a guarantee of victory.

There are no providential men, nor is Carlos Guimarães Pinto the liberal Dom Sebastião. There are certainly other individuals with the will and ability to unite the IL, make it the home of all liberals and adopt a disruptive discourse in the face of the status quo, bureaucracy and Portuguese centralism, elevating the party to new heights. Unfortunately, all the alternative currents within the IL were dismembered, and some of its members were pushed or even explicitly asked to leave.