It’s time to grow up! – Provincial Champion

The words of Francisco Rodrigues dos Santos, in a debate on CNN Portugal, were unreasonable and unnecessary.

The former leader of the CDS-PP accused the current Board of having transformed the party into a “private club with doors closed to renewal”. Such a statement does not correspond to the truth. And the proof of this is that never in the past has the district of Coimbra had such good representation in the party’s national structures.

At the 31st Congress of the CDS-PP, which took place on the 20th and 21st of April, in Viseu, 3 activists from the district were elected to the National Council: Ana Manuel Martins (Coimbra), Miguel Cotrim (Figueira da Foz) and as substitute António Jorge Caetano (Oliveira do Hospital). Paula Helena Ferreira da Silva was appointed to the National Political Commission, a district delegate who has played a very important role in rebuilding the party in the region. Remember that Nuno Melo, in one of the worst moments in the party’s history, began his presidency with the motto “It’s time to build”.

From this moment on, the CDS in Coimbra has representation in national bodies that it has not had for a long time. Therefore, it is far from being a closed group of friends as Francisco Rodrigues dos Santos wanted to imply. There is room for everyone, regardless of opinions.

In Coimbra, despite some difficulties, we have always tried to find a point of balance where everyone can give space to their ideas and work towards the progress and development of our region. We did it well in the last campaign for the legislative elections where we contributed hard to the district’s programmatic lines. And we will do it for European and local governments. The world has changed and the present and future challenges are not the same as the past.

In these troubled times, we need to leave space for young people. This was presented in Congress. They know how to communicate with young people of their generation. They know your difficulties and your desires. We need to listen to them and know what they have to say. They are our future. And we must count on them.

In Congress, we were also asked to make room for others, to improve our language or communication and to build bridges and foundations based on our values.

Now, it’s time to grow and the CDS in the district of Coimbra has already started.