France awaits Kassab to announce support for Haddad

Former governor reached agreement with PT on Sunday, pacifying Lula’s main platform

Former Governor of São Paulo Márcio França (PSB) has reached an agreement with the PT and is expected to announce its support for the party’s candidate for Palácio dos Bandeirantes, Fernando Haddad.

The last negotiations were made on Sunday (3.Jul.2022) in a conversation with Haddad and the former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (EN), who tries to return to the Planalto Palace.

France, however, still awaits a definition of Gilberto Kassabpresident of the PSD, to announce support for Haddad.

The former governor is expected to be a senator candidate and is trying to attract Kassab to his replacement. Both should meet on Wednesday (6.Jul.2022). France does not want to make an announcement without first concluding the talks it started with the PSD president.

It is more likely, however, that Kassab’s party will support Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas (Republicans) for the government of São Paulo.

França tried a delicate political maneuver to attract PSD support to Lula and consolidate himself as a candidate for governor, but the movement did not prosper.

The former governor’s pre-candidacy was without support outside the PSB. He will need to work so that his withdrawal does not jeopardize the slate of candidates for state and federal deputy of the party in the state.

The end of the dispute between Haddad and France for the position of governor of São Paulo will be good news for former president Lula.

Leader in polls of voting intentions, Lula had been working to unify his platform in the state with more voters.

Without the dispute with France, Lula’s deputy, Geraldo Alckmin (PSB), will be able to get directly involved in Haddad’s campaign. Alckmin is strong in the interior of the state, where the PT has more difficulties.

The withdrawal of France’s pre-candidacy has been taken for granted by PSB allies in São Paulo for days.

On Thursday (June 30, 2022), when a DataFolha survey showed the pessebist in 2nd place in the race for Palácio dos Bandeirantes, he recorded a video saying he would go to the 2nd round.

“It’s been a month since every day they say that I’m no longer a candidate, that I’m not going to be a candidate. And DataFolha came out again, we are in the 2nd shift. This Márcio França is difficult, huh?”said in the video.

Despite this, the ex-governor’s argument for leaving the dispute is precisely Haddad’s leadership in the polls.

France also wanted Lula to commit to making an effort to help him get elected senator. The former president signaled positively.

The former governor is also concerned about the possibility of another party in Lula’s coalition having a candidate for the Senate in São Paulo.

The departure of TV presenter José Luiz Datena (PSC) from the dispute left the path less thorny for France. Datena was the highest placed in the Senate polls.

The presenter’s withdrawal was bad news for the President of the Republic, Jair Bolsonaro (PL). Datena would be a candidate on Tarcísio’s ticket, and would campaign for Bolsonaro in São Paulo.