Presidential candidate Henrique Gouveia e Melo stated today in Guimarães, Braga district, that the Constitution does not reserve the Presidency of the Republic for political parties.
Speaking to journalists during a visit to the Deucalion supercomputer, Gouveia e Melo argued that politics is not “a caste or reserved field” for those who have come through partisan youth organizations.
“We are in a democracy and there is no political caste that takes over democracy because otherwise, it wouldn’t be a democracy (…). The Constitution does not reserve the Presidency of the Republic for parties,” he said.
The former admiral was reacting to an article published by Cavaco Silva in Expresso, which argues that a good President of the Republic must have “a good amount” of political experience.
Cavaco also emphasized respect for the Constitution, the defense of political stability, impartiality and independence concerning various political forces and tensions between the Government and opposition, sobriety, avoiding political intrigues against anyone, and speaking the truth to the Portuguese people.
“I see myself in some of the qualities and attributes that he [Cavaco Silva] believes are necessary for a President of the Republic, such as independence, resilience, courage, determination. So, I didn’t feel affected by the article. As for considering politics a caste or a field reserved for individuals who have come through youth political organizations, that is what I completely disagree with,” reacted Gouveia e Melo.
He added that he is not in the race to discuss profiles but to help solve the issues affecting the daily lives of the Portuguese, such as housing, education, health, taxes, or wildfires.
With irony, Gouveia e Melo remarked that he was expecting the article to be a call for help and gathering “around a particular candidate,” specifically Luís Marques Mendes.
“I regret, but I didn’t see the candidate’s name. The appeal should have been clearer. I don’t know if former President Cavaco Silva meant to indicate the candidate was the PSD’s candidate, he should have stated it clearly and not in a disguised or indirect manner,” he further commented.
According to Gouveia e Melo, parties “are crucial for democracy, but they need to change their way of conducting politics.”
“The way these parties conduct themselves recently has caused the population to distance themselves from political parties. That is bad for democracy. Therefore, if the parties don’t see that they need to change, they will be changed in a way that is not best for democracy,” he concluded.
