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

Portuguese,

In the Message to the Country which I addressed on 6 October instant, I stated that Portugal requires a governance solution that ensures political stability.

I also referred that such a governance solution must provide firm guarantees that it will respect international commitments assumed by the Portuguese State and the main strategic options adopted since the establishment of the democratic regime, actions which – to be kept in mind – were voted on by the majority of citizens in the elections held on 4 October.

Contacts held between the political parties that support the project of the European Union and the Euro Zone did not achieve the necessary results to reach a stable and durable governance solution.

This is an unusual situation insofar as the political guidance and the electoral programmes of those parties are not incompatible and, on the contrary, are practically convergent as to Portugal’s strategical objectives.

And this is the reason for my appeal that an enlarged understanding be reached surrounding the main guiding lines of national policies.

I deeply regret that, at a time when it is indispensable to consolidate the path of growth and job creation where dialogue and compromise are more required than ever, fortuitous interests have overcome the safeguard of the higher national interest.

In this context, and having heard the parties represented in Parliament, I appointed today, as Prime Minister, Dr. Pedro Passos Coelho, leader of the coalition party the won the elections held on 4 October instant.

I had in mind that in the 40 years of Portuguese democracy the responsibility to constitute a Government was always attributed to the winner of the elections.

This has occurred in all the general elections in which the winning political faction did not obtain a parliamentary majority, such as happened in 2009, in which the Socialist Party was the most voted, electing only 97 Members of Parliament, and the remaining political factions not hindering their coming into office.

I also had in mind that the European Union is one of the Country’s strategic options. This option was essential for the consolidation of the Portuguese democratic regime and continues to be one of the pillars of our democracy and of the model of society in which the Portuguese wish to live, a developed, and fair and solidarity guided society.

The observance of the commitments assumed within the framework of the Euro Zone is decisive, is totally crucial for the financing of our economy and, consequently, for economic growth and job creation.

Outside the European Union Portugal’s future would be catastrophic.

In 40 years of democracy, the Portuguese governments never depended from anti-European political factions, that is, of the political factions which, in the electoral manifestos with which they presented themselves to the Portuguese, defended the repeal of the Lisbon Treaty, of the Budgetary Treaty, of the Banking Union and of the Pact of Stability and Growth, as well as the dismantlement of the Economic and Monetary Union and Portugal’s exit from the Euro, and, still further, the dismemberment of NATO, of which Portugal is a founder member.

This is the worst moment to radically change the bases of our democratic regime, in a fashion which doesn’t even correspond to the democratic will expressed by the Portuguese in the elections held on 4 October.

After having completed a demanding programme of financial aid, which implied heavy sacrifices for the Portuguese, it is my duty, within the scope of my constitutional remit, to do everything possible to avoid that wrong signals are transmitted to the financial institutions, investors and markets, placing in question the Country’s external trust and credibility which, with great effort, we have been gaining.

I thus must, conscientiously, advise the Portuguese that I greatly fear a fall in confidence from the international institutions which are our creditors, investors and foreign financial markets. Trust and credibility in the Country are essential for investment and job creation.

It is really difficult to understand that the Europeanist political factions could not arrive at an understanding when, in the recent past, they jointly voted, in Parliament, the approvals of the Treaty of Lisbon, of the Budgetary Treaty and of the European Stability Mechanism, whilst the remaining parties always voted against.

It is the duty of the President of the Republic to provide his entirely free opinion over the differing political solutions concerning the appointment of the Prime Minister.

If the Government set by the winning coalition cannot fully ensure the political stability that the Country requires, I consider that the financial, economic and social consequences deriving from a clearly inconsistent alternative suggested by other political factions, to be greatly worse.

Moreover, it is significant that such political factions did not present any guarantees of stable, durable and credible alternative solution.

Portuguese,

The responsibility of the President of the Republic in the appointing of a new Government is ruled by article no. 187 of the Constitution, in line with which, the President must appoint the Prime Minister taking into consideration the results of the elections, after hearing the political parties represented in Parliament.

I follow the rule that has always been in force, I repeat, that has always been in force in our democracy: whoever wins the elections is invited by the President of the Republic to form a Government.

However, the appointment of the Prime Minister by the President of the Republic does no finalize the process of forming a Government. The final decision belongs to Parliament or, more precisely, to the Members of Parliament.

The rejection of the Government Programme, by an absolute majority of Members of Parliament, implies its resignation.

It is thus the duty of Members of Parliament to consider the Government Programme that the Prime Minister will be presenting to Parliament within a ten day delay from its appointment.

And it is the duty of the Members of Parliament to decide, in conscience and considering Portugal’s higher interests, if the Government must, or must not, fully assume its duty bound functions.

As President of the Republic I assume my constitutional responsibilities.

It is now the turn of Members of Parliament to assume theirs.

Good evening.