Kassab’s PSD could be a lifeline for the PSDB, which is considering a merger, says newspaper

Experiencing one of the biggest crises in its history, the PSDB opened negotiations with the PSD, a party led by the former mayor of São Paulo and former minister Gilberto Kassabaround a possible merger with a view to the 2026 general elections. The information comes from journalists Vera Rosa and Roseann Kennedy, in The State of S. Paulo.

According to the report, the Tucanos concluded, based on the resounding defeat in the municipal elections in São Paulo, last year, that the possible merger with another party with greater national reach must be an inevitable path for the PSDB’s own survival.

The president of the PSDB of São Paulo, Paulo Serramet last Thursday (2) with Kassab himself to discuss the matter.

“We had a good conversation, and this issue of the merger of the PSDB with the PSD is progressing a lot”, said the Tucano leader to Estadão. “We need to grow and merger, incorporation or federation could be alternatives”, added Serra, former mayor of Santo André (SP).

According to the national president of the PSDB, Marconi Perilloseveral possibilities are on the table at the moment, including the merger, but the hammer has not yet been struck.

“There is a division in terms of political will because one current wants the PSDB to continue and others defend its incorporation or merger into a larger party,” Perillo told the newspaper. “We will look into this topic in February, once Congress reopens.”

In 2022, the PSDB formed a party federation with Cidadania (formerly PPS), but the union was not considered successful by either party. In the last municipal elections, in October 2024, the tucanos failed to elect any councilor in two of the country’s main capitals, São Paulo and Belo Horizonte.

A possible merger with the PSD would also have to pass through Cidadania’s scrutiny.

“In the face of such valuable cadres as those of the PSDB, throughout Brazil, it is clear that the PSD has a special interest in this approach, whatever the model,” stated Kassab.

The PSDB’s idea is to launch the governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leiteas a candidate for the Presidency of the Republic in 2026. The party’s main leaders believe that the decision not to present their own candidacy in 2022 was a mistake (the Tucanos supported Simone Tebet, from the MDB).

In addition to Leite, the PSDB currently has two governors: Raquel Lyra (Pernambuco), who was already talking to the PSD about a possible change of party, and Eduardo Riedel (Mato Grosso do Sul), recently coveted by the former president’s PL Jair Bolsonaro.

Kassab currently holds one of the most important positions in the governor’s administration Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans) in São Paulo – the state’s Secretariat of Government and Institutional Relations. If Tarcísio is a candidate for Planalto in 2026, the tendency is for Kassab’s party to support him.

On the other hand, the PSD has three ministers in the president’s government Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT): Alexandre Silveira (Mines and Energy), Carlos Fávaro (Agriculture and Livestock) and André de Paula (Fishing and Aquaculture).

Starting this year, Kassab’s party – the big winner of the municipal elections – will manage 887 city halls across the country.