Desidério Silva, former mayor of Albufeira and the Algarve Tourism Region, has disassociated himself from the PSD, the party of which he has been a militant for decades, and intends to advance with an independent candidacy for the presidency of the municipality of Albufeira.
"If there are conditions, I'm thinking of running for the Council of Albufeira, but as an independent, never with another flag," he told the Sul Informação.
This position as a more than likely candidate for president of the municipality of Albufeirense came a day after Desidério Silva made public, on the social network Facebook, that he had sent a letter to the party's leadership announcing his disassociation from the PSD.
“I understood that, after several years as a PSD militant, it was time to leave and, justifying the reasons for my departure, I sent a letter to the president of the party on the 1st of July. That day/night, I informed the president of the local PSD. A month passed and there was no response from either the national or local PSD», reads the publication.
The same post says the drop of water was the presence of Rui Rio in Albufeira, on Wednesday, the day the former mayor of Albufeira made public his disengagement from the PSD.
«Just today, the president of the party walked around Albufeira and, as was to be expected, not a single sign. Thus, I understood that it was public knowledge of my request to disengage from the party I had served with total loyalty for decades. So you are excluding instead of including», he vented.
Contacted by Sul Informação, Desidério Silva did not hide his disappointment because there was no «appreciation of the work done, nor of the history that remains».
Because, he said, his decision to leave the party was linked to "little or no interest that the party had in my knowledge and in what was my baggage over the past two years."
«Didn't use it, didn't need it, didn't want to. And so, when someone doesn't feel integrated, feels excluded and not included in a project, what are they doing there? It doesn't make sense to be in a process in which we are not even able to, at least, help», said Desidério Silva.
David Santos, president of the PSD/Algarve, assured our newspaper that Desidério Silva “didn't write any letter to the District, he didn't let me know about anything. I should have contacted the District, we've known each other for a long time».
“Did you feel abused? I can't figure it out. The last position that Desidério Silva had was in the Algarve Tourism Region, then he ran again and lost. From then on, I don't know what happened», assures the regional leader of the Social Democrats.
Different is the vision of the former mayor of Albufeira, who claims to be a "person of causes". “When the party itself doesn't want my collaboration, doesn't want help, with so much cause to defend and intervene, it's not worth it to be part of that process,” lamented Desidério Silva, in his statements to Sul Informação.
“I volunteered several times to be part of some projects where I could be useful. Obviously, if there are no answers, there is no approach and there is no formalization about it, it would not make sense for me to continue», he defended.
«I have a lot more to do than wait for them to call me, please. I don't have the age or patience for these things», he concluded.
The president of the PSD/Algarve, for his part, made a point of making it clear that Desidério Silva did not contact him, "neither as president of the District, nor as a friend or companion of the party."
«The District does not have, from the Political Committee of Section itself, any indication that would give us any idea of what the now ex-militant Desidério might want. If he wanted to continue to intervene, he could have collaborated with the local PSD, he could have applied to the Municipal Section», claimed David Santos.
In this field, Desidério Silva is clear: «I didn't apply because, for me, that didn't make any sense. I will not discuss elections if, after these two years, the party did not want to take advantage of my know-how».
“Am I going to contest elections within a party in which I no longer feel integrated? No, that's over," he guaranteed.
Instead, the former Social Democrat decided to leave the party he had served "loyally for years, with victories and all that", in order to continue his political life, which has been on hold.
"In this way, the party gets the story and I get my complete freedom of thought and civic intervention," he said.
“I have all my civil rights valid, I have a reality and a story that everyone knows and the fact is that since yesterday [Wednesday] I have received hundreds of messages of support. I was even surprised, not only because of the quantity, but also because they came from certain people, from various political backgrounds, who supported and encouraged me in my decision», he said.
Among them are some notables from the PSD, such as Luís Filipe Menezes, Miguel Pinto Luz, who was a candidate against Rui Rio in the party's last internal elections, and Virgínia Estorninho.
However, Desidério Silva showed the Sul Informação have already the idea of candidacy for the Council of Albufeira well matured.
«The slogans “Albufeira First”, “Albufeira no Coração”, etc., all have them and it is more of the same. But what I do know is that I spent many years as mayor of a municipality and today I don't see myself in what was the strategy, in recent years, and the point at which things have reached», he said.
This is the justification for advancing to a candidacy that, he assures, will always be an orphan of party colors – “those who know me know very well that I'm not one for changing shirts and flags”.
With the next municipal authorities scheduled for the end of 2021, just over a year away, Desidério Silva makes it clear that he will not put the cart before the horse.
«I'm not in a hurry for anything. Everything that is done will be done in its own time and as it should be”, he said.
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