After almost 40 years with presidential elections decided in the first round, the succession of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will only be resolved on Sunday, in the second round, and there are two possible occupants of the Belém Palace: António José Seguro, supported by the Socialist Party (PS), and André Ventura, from Chega.

Seguro entered this phase of the campaign with the “advantage” of having been the most voted candidate in the first round, but decided not to waste time and practically did not stop since the first celebration in Caldas da Rainha, on the night of 18 January.

After a “half-speed” start until the only televised debate with Ventura, it was expected that the campaign, very intense in the first round, would resume the same dynamic in the final stretch until the decisive day.

However, the passage of Storm Kristin also left its mark on the return of the PS-backed candidate, who decided to visit Leiria that very day, alone and without informing the media, one of the areas most affected by this catastrophe.

It was through Seguro's voice, "shocked and impressed" by what he witnessed, that journalists learned he had been on the ground, and from then on, the campaign shifted to a more subdued tone, without celebrations, and, for several days, without any electoral message.

The former PS leader admitted that it was difficult to balance the campaign with concern for those whose lives were devastated by the storm, guaranteeing a "complete separation" between the two.

The daily agenda, released later than usual, was adjusted and even cancelled so that Seguro, who donated 1,500 meters of canvas intended for the final posters, could be alone but still present in the affected areas.

The only exception was on Tuesday, when he was accompanied by the journalists who had been with him on the road for a month on a trip to Proença-a-Nova, Castelo Branco, leaving a promise there, should he win the elections, for the week of his inauguration: to return to the affected areas to verify if the promised support is actually arriving.

It was precisely regarding this support that Seguro made demands of the Luís Montenegro government, to whom he had previously presented various proposals to address this crisis, but without ever antagonising the ministers, arguing that the important thing now is to help the people.

However, now that the emergency has passed, the candidate has already warned that, as President, he will not let the issue die and wants an assessment of what happened because, using the words of former Minister Jorge Coelho regarding the collapse of the Entre-os-Rios bridge, “the blame cannot go unpunished”.

After skipping an election speech in Viseu on Friday and not staying for dinner, he returned to his political message the following day in Guimarães, distancing himself from Ventura and positioning himself as a guarantor of stability, in opposition to turbulence.

A new day and a higher tone, warning that it was not enough to “win by one” vote, returning to the appeal for a robust victory to reach Belém with greater political legitimacy.

Despite favourable polls, he expressed “serious concern” about the idea that voting is pointless because “it’s already won,” and he continued to urge participation, expressing his fear of high abstention.

He then pointed to his opponent as a risk to democracy, claiming he uses undemocratic methods and wants to change the regime, arguing that it has never been “so easy and clear to decide” between two completely different profiles and projects.

Insisting on the openness and independence of his candidacy, he garnered further support to the endorsement he had already received from the left, including from his opponents Marques Mendes and Gouveia e Melo, and former Presidents of the Republic Ramalho Eanes and Cavaco Silva.