The Secretary-General of the PCP, Paulo Raimundo, expressed his condolences to the PSD and the family of former Prime Minister Francisco Pinto Balsemão in a brief statement to journalists at the Assembly of the Republic. He remembered Balsemão as “a man who marked” the political scene, party landscape, and media sector in the country.
Raimundo highlighted the “known, clear, and direct differences” the PCP had with Balsemão but emphasized that the founder of Expresso “naturally left his mark on national life.”
Inês de Sousa Real, spokesperson for PAN, also in parliament, highlighted his role in the foundation of democracy and national journalism, lauding the “advanced and visionary nature” of the projects he developed.
Sousa Real noted that despite “many ideological differences” between PAN and PSD, the “social-democracy that Pinto Balsemão advocated was a social-democracy that needs to be closer to its foundational roots.”
“We hope his legacy will be perpetuated, be it in the ability to build dialogue bridges he promoted throughout his life, in respect for press freedom and free journalism, or in the strengthening of different television channels and various media outlets, an absolutely distinct legacy he leaves to us all,” she added.
Former PSD leader, ex-prime minister, and founder of Expresso and SIC, Francisco Pinto Balsemão, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 88.
Balsemão founded the weekly Expresso in 1973 during the dictatorship, SIC, the first private television channel in Portugal, in 1992, and the media group Impresa.
In 1974, following the April 25 revolution, he co-founded the Democratic Popular Party (PPD), later the Social Democratic Party (PSD), with Francisco Sá Carneiro and Magalhães Mota. He led two governments after Sá Carneiro’s death, between 1981 and 1983, and was a member of the Council of State, an advisory body to the President of the Republic, until his death.
