The secretary general of the Communist Party of Portugal (PCP), Jerónimo de Sousa, announced this Sunday that he is stepping down from his seat and the post of secretary general of the PCP, which he had held for 18 years.
«There is a qualitative alteration of my capacities and taking into account the dimension of our bench, an absence does not come well,» said De Sousa in a press conference picked up by the ‘Diário de Notícias’. «We need to reinforce ourselves. We are going to reach an alternative to give strength and dynamism to the PCP», he added. De Sousa stressed that it was «a decision of his own».
Duarte Alves will replace De Sousa in the National Assembly, while Paulo Raimundo will be in charge of the leadership of the party after the decision of the Central Committee scheduled for next Saturday.
«I have participated in a long process of 18 years and as secretary I have always tried to do my best (…) with ethical values of honesty, openness and fraternity,» he said.
De Sousa has also emphasized that he leaves his responsibilities «with his head held high». «I have known defeats, victories, setbacks», he answered when questioned about the trajectory of declining electoral results.
The PCP is now in the opposition with six seats after the recent absolute majority achieved by the Socialist Party of Portugal, but in the previous legislature it was key to support the Socialists in a minority government baptized as the ‘geringonça’ or «botched job» that brought together Socialists, Communists, ecologists and Left Bloc.
