Pessimism of intelligence, optimism of will
(Antonio Gramsci)
Now what will an optimist of the will do, after hearing the pessimist of the intelligence being right? Find reasons for hope among the dirty plates, empty bottles and half-full, half-empty glasses that remain after the party and that someone will come to clean.
Did I mention glasses half full and half empty? Now there is the favorite image of the duo of the pessimist and the optimist. Is the glass half full or half empty?
We recognize that AD won the party and so their glass was very full of sparkling wine, still frothing. Our glass, I say, is half full, because I put the pessimist in a corner with his reason and I am left here in the role of the optimist of the will, with his reasons.
1. Having been defeated, because it did not win Lisbon and Porto and lost the presidency of the ANMP, the PS still managed a notable recovery in votes, chambers and councilors. It won important chambers in district headquarters, such as Coimbra, Évora, Viseu, Bragança, Faro, Castelo Branco, Leiria, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real.
2. Chega did not achieve its municipal objectives, with the defeats in Faro and Sintra being particularly notable.
3. It was particularly important to me to see that the results in the Algarve contradicted the predictions of those who predicted a new kingdom of Chega in the Algarves.
The conclusion to be drawn (which everyone already knew) is that it is evidently not possible to transpose the numbers from legislative elections to local elections. The logics and motivations are different.
The optimist of will holds his glass half full and faces the pessimist of intelligence, who smiles and remembers that Chega, despite having dropped in number of votes, won three chambers and increased the number of councilors in many others, thus gaining municipal power. But democracy was fulfilled, respecting its rules, and we must always remain attentive and vigilant when it comes to respecting constitutional norms. And the democratic right must not give in to Chega’s siren songs.
The optimist and the pessimist toast with their glasses half full and half empty to the continuation of the democratic struggle. And to his party, which the reader will have guessed which one it is.
And I end with a poem by Sophia, as a warning against the new vultures of democracy:
The old vulture is wise and preens his feathers
Rot pleases him and his speeches
They have the gift of making souls smaller
Diplomat and writer