The President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, expressed on Friday that he is “waiting” for the delivery of the newly announced regulations to the presidential office in Belém, noting that similar measures were introduced in 2017 and that there could now be an “extension” following lessons learned.
Speaking to journalists at the Porto Book Fair, Marcelo detailed three types of measures. “Some measures are very urgent, and the Government has devised a framework,” he stated, referring to the framework law “in the event of a public disaster.”
“This is what I’m waiting to reach Belém, which goes directly to the President,” he added.
“It’s a plan for the future. Thinking 25 years ahead, which the Prime Minister terms a pact; this idea has been around since the Socialist government in 2017, and some mayors have recently requested it. A pact between parties, economic, and social partners to plan everything related to the forest long term. It is true this was attempted in 2017, 2018, and 2019, but now the idea is to have a much longer-term approach,” he explained.
“A true pact will be necessary because a minority government alone does not have the weight to ensure planning over 25 years.”
When questioned about whether the measures were overdue, Marcelo noted, “There were similar measures in 2017, but back then, it was difficult to implement them as there was no legal basis – for compensating personal victims, until then, nothing was done. We had to start from scratch. Now, this is in place, implemented last year regarding material damages,” he stated.
The President emphasized that this year marks an “extension, taking into account the lessons from the past eight years and the last year.” He added, “It’s been discovered now that it’s possible to expand and handle the various measures differently.”
Faced with the possibility of the government merely responding to losses, Marcelo indicated, “Prevention was one of the objectives of the so-called 25-year pact.” However, he showed some skepticism about the plan’s effectiveness, noting, “I’m convinced in this sense: we’re to see what is presented to Parliament, what emerges from Parliament, and what power the Government has to implement this over 25 years. Because it’s only possible if both the governing and opposition parties agree.”
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa stressed that it was not about counting the measures, whether many or few, but about the “speed” with which they were implemented. “And the parliamentary support needed […]. A real pact will be needed because a minority government doesn’t have the weight by itself to guarantee 25-year planning,” he reinforced.
Controversies, the ‘warning,’ and the minister
Marcelo also stated that he “did not want to comment on the controversy between the government and the opposition,” as the former “intervenes quickly and has the obligation to communicate as best as possible.” Responding to whether the government’s communication was clear, he said, “I don’t want to comment on that because it would mean taking a position between the opposition and the government. I think deciding at the last minute often means it’s late – or the scope is not well understood.”
Nevertheless, despite his reluctance to comment, Marcelo recalled his meeting with the government head on August 13, as the North and Minho areas faced wildfires: “Suddenly, it moved to the Center, where several fires broke out, eventually merging into one of enormous size. All of this happened over three or four days. On the day of the meeting, three new fires had just erupted the day before. I remember saying: ‘Be careful, August 15 could be a complicated day.’ It was complicated because it could witness the convergence of the three fires. It could not have happened, but it did. Once it happened, the situation worsened.”
The Pontal Festival, the traditional political re-entry of the PSD, commenced on August 14 in the Algarve. Criticism arose as the Prime Minister and other members of the Executive attended, without focusing on the wildfires as expected, amid rising voices criticizing the lack of measures.
Marcelo spoke about the nightly assessments he made and the State Secretary of Civil Protection’s feedback that fire control improved in the afternoon but acknowledged, “In many cases, there were problems during the night.”
The possibility of encountering further problems by the end of the summer was not dismissed by Marcelo, and referring to the Minister of Internal Administration, Maria Lúcia Amaral, who faced criticism for managing fire combat operations, reiterated, “It’s a tough challenge for a minister new in the role for two months, dealing with a phenomenon like this for the first time. It was already difficult for ministers with one or two years of experience.”
[Updated at 19h09]
