Former Portuguese Infrastructure Minister Pedro Nuno Santos will take over as secretary general of the Portuguese Socialist Party (PS) after securing 62% of the militants’ votes in internal elections, according to preliminary figures.
Santos is set to become the PS leader this Saturday, defeating his two rivals, Interior Minister José Luís Carneiro who garnered 36% of votes and Daniel Adrião with 1%, as announced by the party’s national secretary Pedro do Carmo at the party headquarters in Lisbon.
Moments before the results were revealed, Costa sent a text to militants congratulating his successor. The acting prime minister and now secretary general wrote: “At the moment of handover, I congratulate our comrade Pedro Nuno Santos, and I wish him the greatest personal and political happiness.” This message was reported by EFE.
46-year-old Santos will headline the PS campaign as the party’s candidate for prime minister in the legislative elections on March 10, following Costa’s resignation as head of government amid investigations into alleged irregularities concerning lithium and hydrogen dealings.
The elected secretary general has long been the public face of the party’s left wing and has been viewed as a potential successor to Costa for years. He previously served as Secretary of State for Parliamentary Affairs and as Minister of Infrastructure, resigning from the latter post about a year ago over irregular compensation paid by state airline TAP to an executive. He also led negotiations with left-wing parties that produced the 2015 parliamentary agreement known as the geringonça, which helped Costa assume government. During the Socialist primary campaign, Santos defended policy proposals aimed at strengthening the welfare state, unfreezing civil servants’ severance payments, increasing wages, and expanding affordable housing. He is set to be welcomed by Costa at the match center on Sunday.
Nearly 60,000 socialist militants were invited to vote in internal elections held Friday and Saturday. Ahead of the March elections, Santos will officially launch the party’s campaign at the Congress, scheduled for January 5–7.
António Costa had led the PS since 2014 and became prime minister the following year, a position he has held through three consecutive terms. The PS currently governs Portugal with a simple majority.
vast majority
Santos pledged that no one would be left behind and signaled a goal of securing a large majority in parliamentary elections to ensure stability, while avoiding clues about potential post-election deals. He declared at a dawn speech at the party headquarters in Lisbon that Portugal must become a country where everyone has a place and no one is invisible.
The new PS leader acknowledged the work carried out by the current acting prime minister during eight years in government and expressed his intent to continue it, describing a country with much still to accomplish. He emphasized the aim of achieving a broad socialist majority in the March elections to ensure governance stability, and he indicated reservations about predicting future alliances with other political forces if power requires them. He added that the party would work toward a strong result and then seek governance solutions that fit the parliamentary landscape. He also noted that he would not discuss a geringonça today and would rely on Costa’s experience and insight during the campaign.
The platform he outlined centers on a future for all Portuguese people, with a focus on youth, the elderly, and women. He appealed to businesses to support universal, publicly funded healthcare with the state acting as a partner rather than a substitute, and he expressed a commitment to preserving a free healthcare system. He said, “We want to safeguard the NHS.”
Balancing a strong welfare state with sound public finances and debt reduction will require prudent policy choices. Santos stated he does not intend to cut salaries, pensions, or public spending merely to shrink debt. He also asserted that Portugal should remain a central hub within the European Union while acknowledging areas where the bloc must better serve its citizens. He underscored the need for a stable, people-centered approach as he leads the PS toward the March elections, with the hope of delivering broad support for governance that reflects the will of the electorate.