In remarks to journalists at the Basílica da Estrela in Lisbon, following a mass in memory of Francisco Sá Carneiro and Adelino Amaro da Costa who died 45 years ago, Luís Montenegro asserted that the government, despite different contexts, operates with “the same spirit” as the two historic figures of the former PPD and CDS.
“An attitude of courage, an attitude of transformation, of nonconformity, of great conviction, wanting to call everyone to join us, not focusing on what is lateral or secondary, but on what is essential, what gives us strength, what fuels the ambition and capacity of the Portuguese people, respecting everyone’s condition, leaving no one behind,” he clarified.
The PSD leader referred to Portugal as “a great country” with “a great people,” further stating that governments “must harness the country’s capacity to realize its potential.”
When asked if this is a PSD more aligned to the right than that of Sá Carneiro, considering, for instance, immigration policies, Montenegro answered that the forces supporting the government do not get “distracted by right, left, or extremism” and “focus their political actions on providing responses to the people.”
Earlier, the Prime Minister recalled the “shockwave that swept the country” on the day of the Camarate plane crash, on December 4, 1980, also mentioning Francisco Pinto Balsemão, another PSD founder, who passed away on October 21.
Balsemão and Sá Carneiro were remembered by Montenegro as “two references of the PSD’s identity matrix,” associated with values of “courage, mission spirit, solidarity, respect, and democratic tolerance,” as well as the necessity to “move forward” and “overcome some resistances and difficulties,” even when facing divergences.
“Moving forward with the certainty that the future depends on us and on what we are capable of doing today, and that, often, the recognition of certainty and correctness of decisions requires some time for maturation,” he added.
The executive leader also mentioned assuming a role of responsibility, stating that the government is not “revolutionary” but reformist, and is not “passive towards reality,” nor does it intend to “leave everything the same.”
Montenegro maintained that the political project initiated in 1974 remains central to current governance actions: “This project, which began in 1974 and which, in some way, was heavily impacted by the premature death of Francisco Sá Carneiro, is a project that is alive, very much alive.”
The mass was attended by various figures from the PSD and CDS, as well as from the current government lineup. Absent was President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who usually attends this ceremony but canceled his schedule for the past few days to rest following surgery for an incarcerated hernia.
