Speaking at the opening ceremony of the exhibition “Francisco Sá Carneiro and the Construction of Portuguese Democracy” in Lisbon, the head of state noted that “the major theorists of Portuguese political analysis” at the time believed the PPD would not “survive because it didn’t have the political space to survive.”
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who was also present at the founding of the party, remarked that “the PPD was considered an impossible party,” but “those on the ground knew it was a possible party because it was very different.”
The President highlighted that Francisco Sá Carneiro “liked impossible missions” and “carved out the PSD’s space.”
“I think the prime minister also likes that,” he noted.
The President also referenced a previous comment by the prime minister, who mentioned that the current government is “Sá Carneirista.”
“The Prime Minister naturally took the opportunity to speak about the government, about the current relevance of Sá Carneiro’s message, about how he is a qualified successor to Sá Carneiro, which is indeed true,” stated the head of state.
Marcelo also agreed with Luís Montenegro, stating that “after a long governance from another hemisphere, it was necessary to recreate the party, and to recreate the party, Sá Carneiro’s memory is a good start.”
The President recalled Francisco Sá Carneiro as a “man of unlimited courage,” a “meteoric figure” who could anticipate events, and thanked him “for having existed and being as he was.”
“He was a reality, a unique and unrepeatable reality. No one else lived in such a short time, so much in the creation of Portuguese democracy. And, by extension, I thank him, as President of the Portuguese Republic, to the party he created, which, like the other original matrix party, the PS, were essential in the creation of democracy,” he emphasized.
The head of state also stated that Sá Carneiro was “anti-Salazarist” until “the end of his life.”
In the end, the President of the Republic did not wish to speak to journalists and only mentioned that the new version of the Nationality Law has not yet reached the Palace of Belém, and a meeting is scheduled “in parliament, on November 6,” where the final wording is expected to be fixed.
Organized by the Ephemera Archive, the exhibition “Francisco Sá Carneiro and the Construction of Portuguese Democracy (1934-1980)” is open to visitors until January 31, 2026, in Lisbon.
Also speaking at the exhibition’s inauguration, the curator and head of the Ephemera Archive, José Pacheco Pereira, highlighted the role of the former prime minister in building democracy.
“Knowing his work is vital for today when democracy suffers considerable erosion. If his work is known beyond a portrait hanging in headquarters or statues on the streets, Francisco Sá Carneiro serves today as an example and teaching for his always free and democratic struggle,” he argued.
Pacheco Pereira also stated that “this exhibition is historically accurate, based on multiple documents, many signed and handwritten by Sá Carneiro.”
“From a historical point of view, there is no different Sá Carneiro than the one here,” he declared.
