The president of the republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, warned on Thursday that the international and Portuguese institutions will change either “for the better or for the worse”, in other words “lately and haphazardly”.
In the speech delivered at the October 5 commemoration ceremony in Lisbon’s Praça do Município – attended, among others, by the Prime Minister, António Costa, and the President of the Assembly of the Republic, Augusto Santos Silva – Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa alluded to “the global war that consists of many other wars” and warned of the many who insist “they do not see that the balance of power in the world is changing.”
“And international or domestic institutions are changing for the better, or they will change for the worse. And bad because they change late and haphazardly,” he warned.
In the analysis of the President of the Republic, this could happen if there are delays in the areas of climate, energy, artificial intelligence or in connection with the “weight of communities” such as the United Nations, the European Union, the CPLP, the NATO or the Ibero. -American world.
“All this could happen with the inability or slowness to overcome poverty and social inequality, or with recognizing the role of women, or the role of migrant minorities and in particular young people,” he warned.
In an 11-minute speech, MArcelo Rebelo de Sousa began by reflecting on “how different the world, Europe and Portugal were 100 years ago”, when only 13 years had passed since the proclamation of the Republic, at a time when “time seemed slow, especially on the countryside.” and “daily life was agricultural, except in sparse industrial centers”.
The President of the Republic recalled at the time that in Europe and the world “those from the past were still in charge”, while it was believed that “parliamentary liberalism of minorities was the end of history”.
In the 1920s, Europe lived “convinced that it would always dominate the universe”, at a time when this world, this Europe and this Portugal, unknowingly, were on the eve of the beginning, the beginning, the beginning of their were at an end. “.
“We look at what the world, Europe and Portugal looked like exactly 100 years ago and there are realities that, seen from further afield, impress us,” he said, recalling the difficulties faced by the majority in accessing education, information and knowledge that “was accessible to privileged people at the time.”
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa also defended that it is possible to have “stronger democracies” if one does not choose to “wait and see”, and called for “serious” reforms to prevent changes from emerging from the swamps and “stagnant waters” emerge’.
“Change comes because we choose anticipation over conformism, openness over closedness, changing mentalities, institutions and practices over situationism and inertia. It only depends on us. We, responsible at all levels, we people, we citizens of Portugal, Europe and the world”.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa insisted that we do not let “this freedom” in which we live die, “including freedom of thought and expression, whatever the cost,” and was compelling: “We can create stronger democracies if we do not be content to wait until the “.
“We can make universal organizations stronger if we don’t get used to promising reforms year after year, knowing we won’t deliver. We can reform seriously, continue the path of reform, so that we do not have to see any backlash. reform or plan to do what we did. I realized it didn’t matter to admit it,” he defended.
However, if institutions and systems ‘take forever to understand that they need to evolve and reform, get closer to the people and thus leave no room for others to fill the void they leave behind’, there is one for the obvious risk.
“All this could happen faster than you think: change will flood swamps, stir stagnant waters, open floodgates that have been closed for too long,” he warned.
Costa highlights PR’s ‘interesting reflection’ on anticipating problems ‘to make good decisions’
The Prime Minister on Thursday opined that the speech of the President of the Republic during the celebration of October 5 was an “interesting reflection” of the Head of State to warn that “it is necessary to anticipate problems in order to make good decisions” .
“The speech of the President of the Republic was a particularly interesting reflection of the alertness that we must all be aware of, that we must anticipate problems in order to make good decisions,” considered the Prime Minister, António Costa, at the end of the ceremony commemorating the 113th anniversary of the founding of the republic, which took place in Praça do Município, in Lisbon.
Costa considered the warning “particularly timely” as he will leave for Granada, Spain, on Thursday for the third meeting of the European Political Community and for an informal meeting of the European Council on Friday.
“Where are we going to debate the future of Europe from a strategic point of view?????? and where fundamental decisions have to be taken on enlargement, this is an essential condition for ensuring a fair and lasting peace in Ukraine, but what implies, as the President of the Republic also said here, in this specific case, that reforms are taking place in the European Union so that this enlargement becomes a success story like any other, he emphasized.
The president recalled that Portugal joined the European Union relatively recently, in 1986, and highlighted the “extraordinary revolution” the country has undergone since then.
“And this is what we must guarantee that all new Member States, whether Ukraine or the countries of the Western Balkans, can also follow this path and for this it is necessary that the Union prepares for this,” he stressed.
Moedas warns that the separation between politics and people gives room to radicalism
Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas warned on Thursday that the separation between politics and people could create a void “occupied by vocal minorities and radical activism” that could lead to the end of the current regime.
“This is the current disconnect that everyone feels between politics and people. Politics must be seen, felt and lived by people again. But what is between this imaginary world and the real world of people? There is a void, filled by vocal minorities and radical activism. In the absence of moderate social activism that offers concrete answers, it is precisely these that people cling to” said the mayor, hosting the official ceremonies on October 5.
The mayor believed that politicians, as social actors, have the “ethical, moral and social responsibility not to let the Portuguese get used to unimportant political speeches”, which “seem as if they are talking about an imaginary country where no real people live” .
Moedas recalled that “the Republic of 1910 also destroyed itself because of these noisy minorities and these radicalisms” and that October 5 is therefore “also a historical lesson”.
“Anyone who encourages these radicalisms risks sooner or later the dissolution of the regime. Today, as we approach the 50th anniversary of April 25, let us not want to contribute to such an outcome,” he previously called for. various civil servants politicians.
During the speech, while Moedas said that “today it is up to politicians not to close themselves off to the unreal world, but to open themselves up to reality.” About a hundred people planning to attend the ceremony stood behind the stalls, about 500 feet from the pulpit.
The mayor of Lisbon also addressed the workers who make Portugal “every day with their dedication”, many of whom “rightly think they are burdened with taxes”, telling them that “it is possible not just to work to feed the state machine”.
“Yes, it is possible to remove the obstacles in your life. We must all make this effort: the central state and local authorities,” he stated.
Moedas added that the municipality has reduced taxes during his mandate in Lisbon.
“And next year we will reduce another percentage point and return 4.5% of their IRS to the people of Lisbon. Gradually, but decisively,” he declared.
Source: DN
