The Prime Minister was followed by media as he strolled as naturally as possible at the start of his annual break in the Algarve.
Pedro Passos Coelho has left behind the high life of Lisbon, the cut and thrust of modern politics and is hoping to enjoy a holiday break with his family in the seaside resort of Manta Rota, Vila Real de Santo António.
The PM tried the same last year but the turmoil following the collapse of Banco Espírito Santo occupied much of his holiday time.
Journalists managed a brief interview with the PM today as he walked around a bit, mingling with surprised locals and holidaymakers in a carefully staged pre-election appearance to show he was a man of the people and met examples regularly.
"I hope to be on holiday for the next 10 or 11 days with my family. This will be sufficient time to rest."
When asked whether this year he will leave politics behind, Passos Coelho said, "As much as possible. Just the fact that there are no commitments, just waking, sleep, reading, bathing, being with friends, talking and being with family," he commented as the thought of Paulo Portas running the country in his absence had now become a stark reality.
Saturday wiill be a working day as it is the coalition rally which he must attend despite his ambitions for family time but when asked about Novo Banco, its impending sale and the acceptance by the courts of an injunction that threatens to foul up the whole deal, Passos Coelho said he was of course aware of what was going on but that:
"the Finance Minister and the governor of the Bank of Portugal are closely monitoring the situation" so that the sale can take place as normally as possible, and “so that this matter is finalised in the best possible way."
The threat to the Novo Banco sale is real. Late last week, Liminork, a company run by businessman Jaime Antunes, filed an injunction to block the sale of Novo Banco.
Liminork is owed €2.3 million by Espírito Santo Group offshoot Rioforte and according to Antunes, Liminork took out the injunction because Novo Banco is the only asset that can be seized to ensure Rioforte creditors are paid.
Liminork's management argues that "the obligation to compensate" BES customers who unwittingly purchased Rioforte commercial paper is that of Novo Banco. This liability arises because, argues Liminorke, BES did not fulfill its duty of care when it sold the product over the counter in BES branches without presenting the financial reality of Rioforte, which was dire.
Recalling the collapse of BES a year ago when the so called 'resolution process' happened when he was on holiday, Passos Coelho commented,
"That was a difficult situation. It had an impact and still will have an impact on the economy, not to mention the many people who had invested money. I followed the situation with great concern," he recalled without regret that he has managed to do precisely nothing about those people who invested money, a situation that apparently has been concerning him for a full year.
At the end of this carefully staged ‘interview’, the head of government was faced with a question that even he did not expect. He has just been voted #7 sexiest politician in the world, so what is his reaction?
Passos Coelho said he had no comment, "God bless me," he said as he walked away embarrassed.
Perhaps he already had seen that the picture used to judge his physical attractiveness was several years old and showed him with a full head of thick, shiny hair.
