The strangest coalitions formed after the local elections.

Anyone who thinks that local government executives are built solely on election results is very mistaken. In Lisbon, Setúbal, or Porto, there are examples that show there's always room for surprises, or even oddities. In Avenidas Novas, Lisbon, the process started off flawed and stubbornly refused to straighten out. The president of the PSD/Lisbon council, Luís Newton, decided to act and put an end to a series of misunderstandings, debates, and opinions that delayed, week after week, the inauguration of the Parish Council executive. The president of the Parish Council, Daniel Gonçalves, didn't like it: he believes that Newton imposed a name on him, that of Jorge Barata, while still dealing with contradictory opinions, because he wanted Henrique Torres on the executive.

Sunrise knows that Daniel Gonçalves is not Luís Newton's choice, but an appointment by Carlos Moedas. In short, the webs woven by local government power. The story begins back in the summer, when Nucleus B – which includes the parishes of Avenidas Novas, Areeiro, and Alvalade – met to propose lists, not in order, to the municipal council. Daniel Gonçalves was not present, but he sent a list he had drawn up himself. The municipal council ended up making a mixed list, with names from both groups, and Daniel Gonçalves as number one.

The list was put to a vote as an integral part of the PPD/PSD-CDS-PP/IL coalition, 'For You, Lisbon'. In Avenidas Novas, the result was 53.13%, far ahead of the PS-Livre-BE-PAN coalition, which obtained 28.77%. The process seemed to be on track, but the first proposal for the Parish Council executive, which included, in addition to the president Daniel Gonçalves, four names from the PSD (Emília Noronha, Hugo Sousa, Odília Vieira and Miguel Torres), one from the Liberal Initiative (Nuno Miranda) and one from the CDS (Marina Ramos), suffered a setback. Miguel Torres submitted a document requesting not to be part of the executive, which was poorly received by Daniel Gonçalves. The inauguration was ultimately postponed.

To replace Miguel Torres, the name of Jorge Barata emerged, but the president of the Junta considers that this name was imposed on him by the local council, by Luís Newton. He didn't like it and stated: "This presidency will not compromise with shadows." And he also didn't like, throughout the night of Monday, November 3rd, realizing that the names that were theoretically loyal to him were siding with Newton.

On the same Monday night, November 3rd, in the municipality of Moita, the Socialist Party (PS) handed over the presidency of the Assembly Board of the Union of Parishes of Baixa da Banheira and Vale da Amoreira to Chega, the third most voted political force. The PS obtained 30.23%, the PCP-PEV 28.73%, and Chega 26.48% in the municipal elections of October 12th; each party elected six representatives.

In the first vote, none of the proposed lists emerged victorious. The surprise came in the second: the list headed by Chega was elected with nine votes. The PS proposal received zero votes, three invalid votes were recorded, and everything indicates that some socialist members did not vote for their own list and may have supported the list of the party led by André Ventura – which must be very poorly received by José Luís Carneiro.

The executive of the Parish Council of the Union of Parishes of Baixa da Banheira and Vale da Amoreira was handed over to the CDU, with a total of 15 votes. A local PS leader described the event as a "brutal mess".

Pedro Duarte, the newly elected mayor of the Municipal Chamber, representing the PSD/CDS/IL coalition, chose a PS councilor for the municipal executive. For the Culture portfolio, Pedro Duarte recruited Jorge Sobrado, elected by the PS – he occupied the fourth position on the list led by Manuel Pizarro – but now as an independent councilor.

The decision secured Pedro Duarte a majority in the municipal executive, which has seven councilors from the coalition against six from the opposition, led by Pizarro. Jorge Sobrado has previous experience in the Culture portfolio, having been a councilor in the Viseu City Council between 2017 and 2021, and until recently held the position of vice-president of the Northern Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR-N). The choice of Sobrado for Culture was presented by Pedro Duarte as a valuation of competence and experience above party affiliations. In any case, Sobrado accepted Pedro Duarte's invitation to assume the Culture portfolio as an independent councilor.