Following the first-ever solemn parliamentary session dedicated to 25 November, held in the Assembly of the Republic last year, the Government are taking a step further this year, announcing back in August, following a Cabinet meeting, the creation of a commission to organise the 50th-anniversary commemorations of 25 November.
As such, tomorrow, alongside a formal session in parliament, which will follow a protocol similar to that of 25 April, the anniversary will also be marked by a military parade in Lisbon’s Praça do Comércio, mirroring the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution in 2024.
The near-total alignment of the two commemorations, the only exception being that 25 November has not been declared a national holiday, has been sharply criticised by the left, which accused the right of seeking to diminish the significance of 25 April and argued that the two dates are fundamentally incomparable.
This disagreement surfaced particularly during one of the final leaders’ conferences in parliament in October, when all left-wing parties opposed a proposal from Liberal Initiative (IL), backed by CDS-PP and Chega, that the 50th-anniversary session for 25 November be given the same external banners and quantity of floral arrangements as the 25 April ceremony, a proposal that will ultimately be implemented.
Now, just days before the anniversary, all left-wing parties except the Socialist Party (PS) have announced they will not attend the military parade in Praça do Comércio. Additionally, the Communist Party (PCP) will also boycott the formal session in parliament, as it did last year.
Although the PS will attend the military parade, the party has said it will organise its own programme to mark the anniversary and refused to join the Government’s organising commission, arguing that it sidelines “the central role” of significant statemaker Mário Soares, and seeks “to create a narrative of confrontation and polarisation.”
“The PS cannot support this Cabinet resolution or this commission, which separates 25 November from 25 April 1974. Not only does it obscure the crucial role of Mário Soares and the PS, but it also aims, to a large extent, to rewrite history,” said the PS parliamentary leader, Eurico Brilhante Dias.
With the PS refusing to take part, the commission, chaired by Lieutenant-General Alípio Tomé Pinto, ended up composed solely of right-wing parties (PSD, Chega and IL). This was one of the reasons why Colonel Vasco Lourenço, a leading figure of 25 November, dismissed it as “a farce.”
“They have the nerve to claim it is an independent, non-partisan commission. Who do they think they’re fooling? As I say, look in the mirror and be ashamed of the face staring back at you. (…) These are not decent people,” he argued.
Despite the criticism from the left, the anniversary will be commemorated with almost the same honours as the 50th anniversary of 25 April. According to the Defence Minister and CDS-PP leader, Nuno Melo, the celebrations allow the State to fulfil “its duty towards a date that was fundamental to the consolidation of democracy and freedom.”
“25 November restored to 25 April its original purpose. The 25 April revolution brought about regime change with the intention of handing power to the people, and 25 November put an end to the totalitarian drift and confirmed the democratic order,” Nuno Melo said in August when announcing the creation of the commission.
Source: Diário de Notícias
