Welcome to the Official page of the Presidency of the Portuguese Republic

Honourable Speaker
Honourable Prime Minister
Honourable Mayor of Lisbon
Honourable Speaker of the Lisbon Municipal Assembly
People of Portugal

The proclamation of the Republic, which took place precisely ninety six years ago, is commemorated today.

We are thus nearing the centenary of the institution of the republican regime. The public authorities will commemorate that date with the purpose – a patriotic purpose – of uniting the Portuguese around the ideals and the collective values which constitute the legacy of the First Republic.

After one hundred years, the Republic is nobody’s property, because it represents a heritage which belongs to us all. As such, the commemorations of its foundation must not be a pretext to divide the Portuguese over decades old controversies, totally without reason in our times.

The institutions of the civil society may commemorate the date with the initiatives they think proper but, as behoves a multiparty democracy, it is not the State’s place to sponsor official or officious versions of History.

In the terms of the Constitution, the President “represents the Portuguese Republic”. In this role, I consider that the anniversary of the Republic is a festive day, and as such, should be commemorated with happiness, peace, high mindedness and statecraft.

While taking part in this ceremony, I believe, first of all, that I should place the following query to the Portuguese: what is the reason for the commemoration that is taking place today in the whole Country?

Upon trying to answer this query, we could say the obvious: it makes sense to commemorate October 5 because the Republic, the regime under which we have lived for almost a century, was proclaimed on that date.

But, precisely because it has existed for almost a century, what significance has this centenary institution for the Country? At heart, what does the Republic say to the Portuguese?

It seems clear to me that the Republic and the republican spirit must be renewed and refreshed, so as not to lose their value whilst it is a form of regime and a standard of civic deportment.

This renewal requires, before anything else, a new attitude towards the Republic, which, without losing sight of the memory of the past, rediscovers and refreshes every day, in the daily lives of the people, the values and principles which constitute the essential roots of republicanism.

A new attitude towards the Republic, and towards its civic and its ethical dimension, is somewhat urgently required in contemporary Portugal.

At the end of almost a century of republicanism, a question of regime does not exist amongst us. On the other hand, thirty years after the approval of the 1976 Constitution, the democratic institutions are completely solidified and consolidated. Democracy is present in the institutions and in the spirit of the people. The Portuguese are democratic; they believe and want to live in democracy.

But the Portuguese want to live a better democracy. And the President of the Republic joins them in this legitimate ambition for a better democracy.

Truthfully, it is time that we became more demanding towards our democracy. It is time for us to be concerned with the quality of our democracy.

It is precisely in the name of a better quality for the Portuguese democracy that we have to deepen the ethical dimension of the culture of republicanism, and to underline the need for transparency in the institutions and moralize public life.

Watching the Portuguese Republic, almost completing one hundred years, we cannot but note the ethical behaviour of some of our fellow citizens, who are called to positions of consequence, and not always corresponding to the ideal model of civic republicanism.

Corruption, I must clearly underline, is an exception in the deportment of our political operators. We thus must not raise this issue with alarmist or populist purposes.

There are signs, however, that force us to seriously reflect if the fight against this circumstance has been efficiently and properly conducted, whether preventatively installing a culture of duty and responsibility, whether in the repressive stance of criminal prosecution.

Corruption has a corrosive potential for the quality of democracy which cannot be underestimated. As such we must all be called to fight the battle of moralization of public life, for the good of democracy and for the good of the Republic. As such, all initiatives which seriously contribute to defeat the corruption phenomenon are deserving of praise.

One of the main perversions of corruption is its capacity to scatter like a stain that involves and contaminates all who are around it. In the face of a broadcast suspicion of corruption, nepotism or influence peddling, it is easy to take the trees for the wood, thinking that an isolated situation reflects a generalized behaviour.

Another highly perverse effect for the quality of democracy derives from corruption: the generalized thought that the deportment of the holders of public appointments is not exemplary, could cause the people not to have models to act upon and ethical references for their own deportment.

It is normal to say that the example comes from above. And if the best examples do not come from above – honesty, integrity, and respect for the laws – it is easy for the people to forsake stimuli or incentives to guide their personal and professional lives in accordance with ethical standards of honesty and self-demand.

It must be added that corruption has a further perverse effect: it deepens the inequalities which exist within society. It is regrettable to believe that those who dispose of economic power or capacity to bear influence have privileged access to political decision makers. For this reason, equitable, open and transparent relations of the people with the public authorities are a fundamental requirement.

It is equally worrying that the people, notwithstanding their belief in democracy as the best regime, should become distant from public life and ignore its management; that their belief, which must be suppressed, that the conduct of the future of the public means is not in their interest, since it is their opinion that the conduct of politics is the fief of a few, who use it for their own ends.

The public authorities must give an answer to the civic apathy and lack of interest of the people for political activity through a change in attitudes, so as to recover the confidence of the Portuguese. It is essential that the Portuguese feel that their government, at every level, lives for politics with a spirit of service and dedication to the public cause.

All Portuguese must be enlisted in the fight for a democracy with better quality, but this is a task primarily committed to the holders of public office.

This summons is applicable to all levels of the State, from central to local authorities. Transparency of public life must commence precisely where the power of the State is nearest to the people. In this instance, it is necessary to forcefully call the attention of local authorities for the special responsibilities they all have in this fight in order to restore the confidence of the people in their institutions.

The renewal of republican ethics in public service cannot only be based on a tutorial on the performance of duties, nor in sheer pleas for a change in attitude. Unfortunately, there will always be persons or situations from whom this moral dimension of republicanism will be absent. Thus the judicial power, a fundamental prop of the rule of law, must be garnered for this purpose. But, in order that the transgressors are quickly and efficiently pursued, it is necessary that the fight against corruption be assumed as an effort to which all are called, specifically by the judiciary system, the dignity and credibility of which must be strengthened in the eyes of the Portuguese.

On the other hand, the influence acquired in our times by the media implies that its operators equally take part in this effort to renew the republican ethics. A responsible, rigorous and exempt attitude is demanded from the press, since its role in moulding public opinion is not compatible with sensationalist or populist treatment of information or, even less, with the dissemination of facts or news which do not correspond with reality.

The Republic should be commemorated on this fifth day of October. But for this date to be converted in an occasion in which all Portuguese take part, we must change our attitude and mentality, with the permanent belief that the Republic is a rule of life, sense of duty and model of deportment.

Let us celebrate the Republic. But, above all, let us celebrate the Republic for what the Republic demands of us.