It was already known that Rogério Bacalhau would be the president of the Chamber of Faro. Since yesterday, it is known that José Apolinário is from the Municipal Assembly (AM) of the capital of Faro.
The swearing in of elected officials for the different bodies of the municipality of Faro took place this Thursday, at Teatro das Figuras and, without surprises or contestation, it was the PS to AM's list head who assumed the presidency of the organ, in a vote that took place during the ceremony.
The PS proposal, which was headed by the former mayor, was the only one presented, a symptom of the changes that the September 29 elections brought to the Chamber of Faro, in relation to the recent past. The ruling coalition won again, but lost the majority in the Chamber and saw the PS win the majority in the AM (before, there was a tie in the number of deputies of the two main forces).
In the Taking of Office, moreover, the effects of the “plurality” of those elected were felt, which Rogério Bacalhau emphasized in his speech. Optimistic, the newly installed mayor showed himself confident in the possibility of dialogue, without having to join forces even further, as he was elected by the right-wing coalition «Together for Faro», to obtain a majority in the Chamber. Even so, it's foreseeable that there are, at times, difficult knots to untie in the governance of the municipality of Faro.
After an inaugural speech in a very conciliatory tone, Rogério Bacalhau revealed to journalists, on the sidelines of the session, that he does not foresee assigning roles to opposition councilors, but that he does not reject this possibility.
“I don't think attributing roles [to opposition deputies], I don't even know if any force thinks about it, it's not something very normal. But, if someone wants to take on a role, I have no problem with them working more closely with us», he said.
At the outset, the strategy involves dialoguing and dealing with issues on a case-by-case basis. “I'm sure we'll talk throughout the mandate and arrive at a good port. I have a habit of putting things to the appreciation of the various people involved. I was already doing that as vice president and I will continue to do so,” he said.
"I have already arranged meetings with all the political forces, as there has to be interaction with the other parties," he added. «I always tried to reconcile all my forces, even when I was at school [Secundária Pinheiro e Rosa, as principal]. At this moment, taking into account the geometry of the Assembly, this is fundamental. This does not necessarily have to be bad, if everyone is willing to contribute to the common good», he considered.
Apolinário walked where Luís Coelho had to “sweat”
The calm election of José Apolinário contrasted with a vote with the same end, in a similar ceremony, four years ago. In 2009, when Macário Correia was elected president of the Chamber by a difference of 140 votes, socialists were also the most voted for the AM, but the election of the president of the organ proved to be very difficult, as with the presidents of together (then six) the balance of forces was balanced.
And if, at the time, there was a tie in the number of municipal deputies of the two most voted forces and two lists were presented for voting, yesterday that did not happen. To choose between Luís Coelho (PS) and Jorge Leitão (PSD/CDS/MPT/PPM), it was necessary to repeat the vote several times, and finally, the socialist was chosen.
Yesterday, Apolinario went to votes alone and created a consensus. 24 of the 29 municipal deputies (there are 31, but two were not present) voted in favour, with one abstention and four blank votes. Therefore, there were no votes against. A significant result, since the PS has 12 municipal deputies, the coalition in power 10, the CDU five, the BE two and the independents of «Salvar Faro» another two.
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