Alckmin wants primaries in the PSDB before the deadline for party switching.
Geraldo Alckmin, governor of São Paulo, reacted to the maneuver by Senator Aécio Neves (MG), who extended his term as head of the PSDB until May 2018 and began to advocate that any primaries to choose the PSDB's presidential candidate be held in December of this year or, at the latest, by January 2018; this would allow Alckmin, if he does not become a viable candidate within the PSDB, to take advantage of the period that allows party switching – up to six months before the election; the legal deadline for the governor to resign from his post to run for office is April 4th. Allies say he doesn't want to get to that date without being sure he will be the PSDB's chosen candidate.
247 - Geraldo Alckmin, governor of São Paulo, reacted to the maneuver by Senator Aécio Neves (MG), who extended his term as head of the PSDB until May 2018 and began to advocate that any primaries to choose the PSDB's presidential candidate be held in December of this year or, at the latest, by January 2018. This would allow Alckmin, if he does not become a viable candidate within the PSDB, to take advantage of the period that allows party switching – up to six months before the election. The legal deadline for the governor to resign from his post to run for president is April 4th. Allies say he doesn't want to reach that date without being certain he will be the PSDB's chosen candidate.
The information is from Report by Pedro Venceslau in the State of São Paulo.
"If he chooses to leave the party to run under another banner – the PSB has already indicated it would accept him – Alckmin would have to change parties by April. According to the governor's allies, the defense of an internal election modeled after the American primaries will be made "enthusiastically" by his political group, but the ideal scenario is to avoid confrontation."
The primaries are, in fact, a source of pressure on Aécio and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Serra, who is also in the running. Former internal adversaries, Aécio and Serra have joined forces to block the advance of the São Paulo governor, who emerged politically strengthened from the municipal elections.
Aécio, Serra, President Michel Temer, and the Minister of Communications, Gilberto Kassab, who heads the PSD party, hope to choose a candidate for 2018 from within the group. Alckmin, however, is keeping his distance from the Presidential Palace and intends to remain so in the election year.
In the current party landscape, the senator from Minas Gerais has a large majority in the PSDB executive committee and more influence in the state directorates.
To reverse this situation, in 2017 Alckmin will have a multi-party task force responsible for nationalizing his agenda, expanding relations with Congress, building bridges with regional leaders, and attracting governors to the project of a presidential candidacy independent of the federal government.