Who attacked whom in the first Lisbon radio debate?

As is tradition among incumbents, Carlos Moedas was the biggest target of attacks, coming from all sides and from all directions. Only Alexandra Leitão came close, bearing the weight of 14 years of socialist rule on her shoulders, a legacy the Lisbon City Council president ultimately clung to with all his might to defend himself.

Still, what stands out from this debate broadcast live on Rádio Observador this Friday morning was the role of João Ferreira, who attacked Moedas almost as much as he did Alexandra Leitão, the Socialist Party candidate. The same happened with Bruno Mascarenhas of Chega, who continues to try to tie the PSD to the Socialist Party. Observador tallied the attacks each opponent launched during the debate.

Coins. The target of everyone who defended themselves with the PS's legacy.

Attacks on Alexandra Leitão: 6 Attacks on João Ferreira: 2 Attacks on Bruno Mascarenhas: 1

Carlos Moedas was the most attacked by everyone during the debate, using the legacy of socialist rule as a defensive and offensive weapon, making Alexandra Leitão his target. In his six direct attacks on the socialist, from housing to urban hygiene and mobility, Moedas continues to maintain that the work is only halfway through and that he started from a challenging position.

"There are indeed urban hygiene problems that have been going on for fourteen years, stemming from political decisions made by your party," or "we had completely wrong political decisions from the Socialist Party," Moedas explained, always pointing to Alexandra Leitão, who was sitting right next to him. On the other hand, he used the recent past to associate the Socialist Party with a "radical left" or "far left," claiming that, due to "ideological blindness," the city government's projects were blocked.

He described himself as "a president who has always been blocked by the Socialist Party and the opposition," saying he can never "buy or sell any city assets or any land" due to the opposition parties' votes, while "the Socialist Party sold 800 million in assets between Costa and Medina." He then turned to Alexandra Leitão to remind her that Fernando Medina, at the time, was completely contaminated by the Left Bloc, always trying to portray the party as a radicalized Socialist Party. So much so that, when he presented his candidacy, he enlisted the moderate Socialists.

Furthermore, on a much more limited level, Carlos Moedas also attacked João Ferreira for his opposition over the past four years and the "ideological blindness" he referred to. And he left a common criticism of all his opponents almost until the end, asking that no "public judgments" be made regarding the Glória Elevator accident—the issue that burst onto the campaign trail and has the mayor waiting for answers.

Alexandra Leitão. Moedas was a target, but the most serious warning was given to João Ferreira.

Attacks on Carlos Moedas: 8 Attacks on João Ferreira: 1 Attacks on Bruno Mascarenhas: 0

There was a moment in the debate when Alexandra Leitão accused Carlos Moedas of doing nothing to stop the government from selling state assets in Lisbon, only to be met with criticism from the PCP candidate (see below), who wasn't even targeted. Coming from a televised debate where the PS-centric communist strategy took a hit, Leitão lashed out at João Ferreira: "Let me tell you this with all the kindness." And, almost with a pointed finger, she delivered a kind of warning to the communist: "Anything that may have gone wrong in the past has nothing to do with the four years that are now being judged."

It was the only time he attacked João Ferreira—telling him that it was "unfair and imprecise" to lump this administration with previous ones—but it was a significant attack in a context where the Socialist Party was besieged by the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) in Lisbon. Even without wanting to make João Ferreira an adversary, Leitão was firmly rooted in the communist strategy and couldn't resist taking that side—while his main adversary, Moedas, watched.

Moreover, the main line of attack focused on Carlos Moedas, the opponent in this race whom the Socialist criticized most often (eight times, according to Observador's count) and on several issues. She began with mobility, attacking Moedas' management of Carris, the lack of bus lanes, dangerous bike paths, and difficulties for pedestrians. But she also criticized housing, where she attacked Moedas primarily for his poor ability to mobilize private sector funding for new housing construction—and even tried to settle the score again regarding the keys distributed in Lisbon by Medina. She said the city "is dirtier," that Moedas complains about the lack of governance conditions for no reason (the Socialist Party provided these conditions "and is not sorry"), and even tried to exploit Moedas' alliance with the IL, when she spoke of the "total liberalization" that the Liberals advocate regarding TVDE. She continues to attempt to gain ground in the center, leaving her left even more vulnerable (and under attack).

João Ferreira. Almost as many attacks on Moedas as on Leitão

Attacks on Carlos Moedas: 6 Attacks on Alexandra Leitão: 4 Attacks on Bruno Mascarenhas: 1

João Ferreira even sounded in unison with Carlos Moedas when they both reminded the socialist that the Graça barracks had also been leased in a questionable manner. "Exactly," Moedas encouraged when the communist interrupted Leitão's accusation of the mayor doing nothing to stop the state's sale of public assets in Lisbon.

The communist used Leitão's accusation twice to remind the socialist that the Socialist Party had done no differently and that it's not the City Council that should buy from the central government, "which also has housing responsibilities." To the point of prompting a warning from Leitão (see above), to which Leitão responded by assuring that he doesn't consider the PSD and PS to be the same ("it's not the same"), but that the socialist administration "shouldn't be left out of the equation."

João Ferreira's strategy of joining forces with the left was clearly evident in the small difference between the number of attacks he made against Moedas (6) and those against Leitão (4). He also combined them to point out the lack of stability in the city council teams and the distribution of responsibilities in urban hygiene, which he noted originated under the Socialist administration (2012).

João Ferreira moved into Leitão's attack on Moedas and emphasized his strategy of joining forces on the left. However, Moedas remained the main target, for his failure to take a stand on the circular route, mobility and environmental policies, and for not speaking out on the sale of state assets and urban hygiene. On this last topic, he also attacked Bruno Mascarenhas of Chega, telling him that transferring powers to parishes in urban hygiene matters opens "the door to the squabbles of this life. Chega has supported this model in the AML."

Bruno Mascarenhas: The Joint Attack on the PSD and PS

Attacks on Carlos Moedas: 7 Attacks on Alexandra Leitão: 4 Attacks on João Ferreira: 2

He was the most muted in the debate, even though he attempted to mimic the narrative initiated in the first four-way political confrontation: a sort of "everyone is equal and Chega is the alternative." He did so in attacks on the Socialist Party (PS) and the Social Democratic Party (PSD), taking swipes at Moedas—remarking that "he didn't have the capacity to clean up the people who have been managing urban hygiene in Lisbon for a long time"—and Alexandra Leitão, recalling that "many of them are members of the PS." Along the way, he even managed to criticize the CDU regarding urban hygiene, arguing that communists want a system that puts "unions in control of as many people" as possible.

He also ended up arguing about the "ideological blindness" he attributed to his three opponents on the issue of mobility, accusing the PSD, PS, and PCP of "privileging individual transportation, [such as] bicycles and scooters, rather than good public transportation." He also complained, during one of his remaining speeches, about the excessive use of TVDE.

Bruno Mascarenhas considered that "the city is worse off" and accused Carlos Moedas of being responsible, particularly for engaging in "propaganda." He even tried to claim that Moedas knows "very well" what happened in the Glória Elevator accident, that Chega asked questions, and was ultimately contradicted by the mayor in one of the most heated exchanges of the debate. As the curtain fell, Mascarenhas' strategy was clearly a traditional coalition between Socialists and Social Democrats and an attempt to polarize with Chega: "This system is full of people accused of corruption within the Socialist Party and the PSD."

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