"Not to insult people who want a consensus," said the stately warhorse of Portuguese politics, but "I have said enough for people to realise that I do not agree with it.”
The former President of the Republic of Portugal was asked his opinion of yesterday’s speech by the current Head of State, Cavaco Silva who has called for an ‘arc of governance’ in Portugal’s political scene, exhorting parties to converge and agree on austerity measures so as to please foreign lenders.
Soares was speaking to reporters at the Personality of the Year 2013 ceremony awarded by the Foreign Press Association in Portugal, which recognised the importance of his public comments during the year.
In the acceptance speech for his award at the Palácio Foz in Lisbon the former Head of State recalled his relationship with journalists, who he "always liked a lot," recalling the 40 years of politics since the revolution on 25th April 1974.
Soares commented that it is time “to stop the dictatorship” gathering force in Portugal. A dictatorship that is forming “without anyone realising yet that it is a dictatorship.”
"The 25th of April should be exclusively for the military at that time,” commented Portugal’s former leader, adding that whatever the government was planning for the 40th year celebrations is ridiculous and would not amount to much.
Mário Soares said that the approaching anniversary should serve "to prove that the April 25th did not die, that the military did not die and in April 1974 they were the ones who saved the country's from dictatorship."
Comments
The so called freedom fighters of the last days of Salazar (like Soares) have changed nothing for the elite in Portugal since !
Our local autocrat, running his municipal fiefdom (for the last x years) after his father led it - is still trumpeting 'We are Defending our Land!'
From, at great cost to Brussels, the EU ???