MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Lula da Silva praises Conservative allies in coalition

Brazilian president Lula da Silva would like to see his ruling coalition remain in office even if this means supporting a conservative presidential candidate in 2010, according to an official spokesperson from the Planalto Palace.

"Since the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, PMDB is the major force in the coalition, one of the alternatives for the presidential rotation in 2010 is a joint candidacy", said Walfrido dos Mares Guia, Minister for Institutional Relations in Brasilia this Thursday. PMDB, the Conservative party which is a crucial ally in the ruling coalition has been repeatedly praised by President Lula da Silva as "the most important political party in Brazil", in spite of having been his main opponent during the president's first mandate (2002/2006) and most of his political life. However in Lula da Silva's second mandate (2006/2010) PMDB reached an agreement and joined the ruling coalition with a significant share of power since they hold the main minority in both chambers of Brazilian Congress. However the incorporation of PMDB has not been with out headaches for President Lula da Silva who has been questioned by the more traditional groups inside his Socialist oriented Workers Party, which he started in 1980 and was presidential candidate five times, running. But this strange blend of political colors coalition won't be easy to hold together, and political analysts doubt it will survive the four years of President Lula da Silva given the diversity of interests and ideologies. Besides the Workers Party and the PMDB, the multi color ruling coalition includes the Brazilian Communist Party; Brazilian Republican party (center); Democratic Labor and Brazilian Socialist (both left wing); the Greens and right wing Progress Party.