“Somehow, Mr. President – or former President – Cavaco Silva paid me a great compliment, for which I am very grateful: that compliment is to consider me the greatest danger to his protégé,” Henrique Gouveia e Melo stated to journalists at the Serralves Foundation in Porto.
Speaking after attending the Fábrica 2030 conference, marking the ninth anniversary of the newspaper Eco, Gouveia e Melo expressed disagreement with the assessment made by Cavaco Silva in a text published today in the online newspaper Observador.
“I do not believe there is a dynastic process in politics, nor do I believe in a process of political castes or oligarchies, and I do not think the Presidency should be partisan,” emphasized Gouveia e Melo. He stated his presidential candidacy aims “to give the Portuguese people an opportunity to choose a different actor, with a different position and stance: not dynastic, not from the caste, and finally, not from the parties.”
Henrique Gouveia e Melo also remarked that the world today is “completely different from what Professor Cavaco Silva faced as Prime Minister and as President of the Republic.”
“All of us in politics expect support from political and non-political figures. We expect support. I also have a lot of support. But I will not be here competing with the support of A, B, C or D,” he said.
The former head of state and government Cavaco Silva today expressed support for presidential candidate Marques Mendes and argued that Gouveia e Melo lacks the “skills and qualifications” to be President in the uncertain future term.
“Admiral Gouveia e Melo may have many attributes, but he does not possess the skills and qualifications to exercise the functions of President of the Republic amid the uncertain and complex international framework anticipated for the next five years,” defended Aníbal Cavaco Silva in an opinion piece in the online newspaper Observador.
In that text, Cavaco Silva expressed his duty to warn the Portuguese “about the instability risk Portugal may face if a President is elected without the skills and qualifications to handle the difficult, uncertain, and complex situations the country may face, and to defend the nation’s best interests.”
“In these times of uncertainty and threats, it is crucial that the future President of the Republic is well-versed in the functioning of our political system’s institutions, builds bridges, facilitates understanding between political parties, economic and social forces, the government, and the opposition, and is capable of acting as a last resort if the country is hit by a serious crisis,” he asserted.
Thus, he believes, “and considering his political experience and his good sense and personal qualifications, I think it is Luís Marques Mendes who can best perform this task.”
