"Everyone in the PT knows there will be a second round."

Mariana Almeida _ PE247 - The leader of the PSB in the Senate, Rodrigo Rollemberg (DF), celebrated the growth in voting intentions surrounding the governor of Pernambuco, Eduardo Campos, the party's pre-candidate for the Presidency of the Republic. According to the parliamentarian, the current political scenario indicates that the 2014 presidential election will be decided in the second round. "Nobody wins the election in the first round a year in advance. The entire PT knows there will be a second round," he said, referring to the fact that PT members claim that President Dilma Rousseff (PT) will be re-elected in the first round of the election. Rollemberg also said that the criticisms made by members of the Workers' Party against the socialist pre-candidacy "only demonstrate a growing concern on the part of PT members" regarding the potential growth of the socialist candidacy.

“In the Datafolha poll, Eduardo appeared with around 15%, and in the CNT poll, which was released this Thursday [7], he appears with 9,5%. It is important to remember that no two polls are the same, and that, previously, in the Datafolha poll, Campos had less than 15% of the votes, and before that, in the CNT poll, he did not reach 9,5%. This demonstrates growth,” he assessed. According to the socialist, the approval and voting intention rates of President Dilma Rousseff (PT) are beginning to show signs of stagnation, while Campos has been steadily increasing his rates, which should lead to the dispute being decided only in a second round.

"Everyone in the PT knows there will be a second round. If, during the reelection of former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva [PT], with Brazil growing at a rate of 7% per year and Lula at the height of his popularity, the victory wasn't immediate, how will it be in 2014?", asked the PSB member, referring to the constant criticisms made by the PSB regarding President Dilma Rousseff's economic management.

When questioned about the statements made by Francisco Rocha, a member of the PT's national board, that the alliance between Eduardo Campos and former senator Marina Silva would end up dividing the PSB because her approval ratings were higher than Campos's, Rollemberg was emphatic. “I find these statements amusing, because in reality they demonstrate a growing concern on the part of the PT. We are absolutely calm, we have no worries whatsoever,” he stated.

Rochinha, as the Workers' Party member is better known, declared in an interview with PE247On Wednesday (6), Rochinha said that the former senator's higher voting intention rates would eventually lead Marina to seek to head the socialist ticket. "At some point she will want to be a candidate, and then all hell will break loose within the PSB," he said. Rochinha also said that "the PSB spat in the plate it ate from" when it left the Dilma government base to launch its own candidacy in the race for the Planalto Palace.

“This discomfort generated by our departure from the federal government demonstrates an extremely authoritarian vision. All parties have the right to field candidates,” stated Rollemberg. “We recognize the contribution of the PT and PSDB to Brazil. What we are doing is exercising our right to field our candidates and propose new paths,” he justified.