Presidential candidate Henrique Gouveia e Melo stated on Tuesday that he does not rely on polls and that doubts will be resolved in January. “If I oriented myself by polls, I wouldn’t have covered half the path I’ve taken so far. In January, this result, these doubts will be resolved,” he said during statements to NOW channel.
Later, while speaking to journalists after participating in the ‘Estoril Talks’ conference, the former Chief of Naval Staff downplayed the importance of recent polls indicating a closer race between himself and former PSD and PS leaders, Marques Mendes and António José Seguro, respectively.
Notably, in the latest Intercampus barometer for Correio da Manhã, CMTV, and Jornal de Negócios, Admiral Gouveia e Melo is in a “near technical tie” with Luís Marques Mendes and António José Seguro.
Although he continues leading the voting intentions of the Portuguese for the 2026 Presidential elections, the former Chief of Naval Staff dropped 6.7 percentage points compared to the June poll, where he gathered 27.3% of voting intentions.
In July, 20.6% of Portuguese respondents admitted they would vote for Henrique Gouveia e Melo. It should be noted that in March, the admiral was the population’s favorite, with 35.6% of voting intentions.
Despite remaining the favorite among the Portuguese for presidential elections, Gouveia e Melo ‘sank’ in voting intentions, nearly in a technical tie with Marques Mendes and Seguro. In a possible second round, there are also several tie scenarios.
Recall that a poll conducted by Pitagórica for TVI, CNN Portugal, TSF, JN, and O Jogo between February 23 and 26, to assess the Portuguese opinion on issues related to the country’s current affairs, showed that Gouveia e Melo led preferences in the race for Belém.
Revision of the citizenship curriculum? “There are more important topics”
When questioned about the political controversy over revising the citizenship curriculum, the presidential candidate generically stated that his main goal is to have “quality education” and considered that “there are more important topics such as housing, health, immigration, or defense”.
Henrique Gouveia e Melo became more incisive towards the end of his participation in the ‘Estoril Talks’ conference when responding to questions from the attendees. At that time, he confided that his concern so far has been to “convince the media bubble”, trying to dismantle claims that his candidacy poses a threat to democracy.
He promised right there “a new phase starting in September”, at which point he guaranteed that he would start taking positions on more concrete political aspects.
Then, in statements to journalists, he repeated criticisms of the “media bubble” and confirmed this second phase of intervention starting in September.
He referred to himself as “a foreign body to what was normal in terms of presidential candidates, in terms of the political-party system”.
“It is natural for the media bubble and the system to react against this foreign body, but I have to get used to it because it’s part of life. That’s what I do, get used to that reaction, which is sometimes somewhat corporate,” he argued.
Asked whether his status as a presidential candidate without a party machine and without support from major parties is an advantage or disadvantage in the race for Belém, Gouveia e Melo replied briefly: “The Portuguese will decide in January 2026”.
But, in the responses given to the attendees at the conference, he left several criticisms of the political class, albeit without specifying parties, saying, among other things, that some seek to “infantilize” the Portuguese, which constitutes an “anti-democratic” attitude.
Regarding the issue of revising the regime for the entry and stay of foreigners in Portugal, the admiral also left a warning in the form of a question: “Do we want to be more isolated and risk not developing our economy as much?”
“Immigration, health, and housing are the problems that will mark the next five years,” added the presidential candidate, who promised to “do everything to increase the Portuguese people’s morale”.
In this context, Gouveia e Melo set a central goal of action, if elected head of state, to “use the influence of the magistrature” with other sovereignty bodies for the “definition of collective goals” of national interest.
Even before the end of the conference, one of the attendees at the lunch confronted the admiral with his controversial statement that he preferred a rope around his neck than to be a presidential candidate. Gouveia e Melo, in response, argued that this reaction must be situated in the time and context that was being experienced in the country.
“If I admitted something at that time, I would be condemning the entire vaccination process,” he claimed.
It should be recalled that the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, has not yet announced the chosen date for the presidential elections.
