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The public word

This book, now being published, contains the written speeches which I delivered during the second year of my mandate. They interpret and substantiate, together with the impromptu speeches and statements to the media, the use of one of the more important tools through which the President of the Republic can act: the public word.

Through this medium, the President communicates with the people of Portugal, by stating his opinion on the various public policies, by giving his views on the Country’s situation and international issues, by disclosing his experiences and his concerns.

He can thus influence the behaviour of the political, economic, social and cultural executants and the attitudes of the people in general.

For this reason, the President of the Republic must carefully consider the use of the public word, and to speak so as to be heard. He must try to contribute, with his good sense and moderation, towards resolving the emerging issues with maximum benefit for the Country. In the face of the pressures of the media which characterize our times, to find the right word, on the appropriate occasion, is seldom an easy task.

The public word is a part of the authority exerted by the President of the Republic, and this also includes the word spoken in private. The influence of the President, in order to be effective and benefiting the Country, not only recommends his restraint, but can also demand that he acts discretely, away from the searchlights of the media, and that he places secrecy on certain issues. This duty of secrecy does not mean, as I have been careful to make clear, any distancing or passiveness concerning governmental policies or measures, neither a definitive denial, if such should be the case, to publicly divulge an opinion in that respect.

The President of the Republic is permanently attentive to national issues and to actions of Government and Parliament, as can be inferred from his dialogue with the Prime Minister and other political officers, but national interest advises that his opinions should not always be publicly made known.

If, as determined by the Constitution, the President of the Republic has full information of the conduct of internal and external policies, the Government must generally be aware of his opinions concerning the main issues of governance, and should thus not be surprised when the President expresses his views on such issues.

It has been my concern to speak the truth to the Portuguese and, at the same time, inspire them with faith, courage and the will to conquer. Since the beginning of my mandate, I have endeavoured to muster them to face the challenges fronting our collective future, insisting in opposing disbelief, resignation and pessimism which some say, since time immemorial, are characteristics of the Portuguese.

For this reason I have been instrumental in showing the good examples which can be found in the Country – in enterprises, in social activities, in culture, in sciences, in the environment. Examples that single out remedies, encourage new initiatives, and strengthen the trust in our capabilities.

My public word in this second year, as shown in the speeches now being published, impacted on several nationally relevant issues.

On several occasions I underlined the decisive importance, for the future of the Country, in the procurement of knowledge by young people, and endeavoured to show that education, through the qualifications it generates and the skills it propitiates, is a fundamental pillar for equal opportunities and a mainstay of social inclusiveness.

I endeavoured to muster the people of Portugal towards excellence and demand in education and towards the need to fight schools abandonment and failure, just as I also defended a proactive and participating role of the parents and of the community in schools and in educational performance. A new model for schools, closer to the community, was the main topic of my speech in the celebrations of the 97th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic.

I equally used the power of the public word to call the attention of the various institutions and of all the Portuguese, to the accelerated diminishing of the birth rate, which is attaining a much lower level than that which is indispensable for the renewal of generations. I alerted, in this respect, to the need for active measures for the promotion of the birth rate and for the protection of our children, which requires action not just from the State but also from employers and from the civil society.

The Presidential word was also used to emphasize the role of the Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in the Portuguese economy and in its society and to plead that public policies give them special regard. We must not forget that a very important portion of our productive fabric is composed of micro, small and medium sized enterprises, which cover all the national territory, generating added value and providing employment. Their sustainability is a crucial component for the economic development and social cohesion of the Country. In order that Portugal approaches the average level of development of the European Union, it is fundamental that advantage is taken of the potential for growth and for the provision of employment of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises.

For this specific reason I appealed that the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) should not be oblivious of small enterprises, and that it should provide these with the opportunity for modernization and growth, in order to face the challenges of globalization.

On the other hand, in my contacts with the local authorities and in public speeches, I recognized the decisive contribution of the local powers for the improvement of the living conditions of the people and argued that this was the occasion for the municipalities to readjust their priorities.

Once the enthusiastic stage of the construction of the infrastructures is past, improved regard should be bestowed upon social development and on the strengthening of productive capacity and the competitiveness of the municipalities, in order to create job opportunities for the younger people. I equally called attention to the importance of the quality of the environment and of land use development, which are factors of that same competitiveness.

Coherently with the above, I spoke in defence of the attribution of new capabilities and increased responsibilities to local authorities – whilst assuring them of the corresponding financial means – in the areas of basic education and social activity, where their proximity to the people gives them unarguable advantages in terms of effectiveness.

I appealed for the proactive involvement of the local authorities in the fight against schools abandonment and failures and against poverty and social exclusion, as well as in the coordination of the efforts of the local solidarity institutions, in support of the more disfavoured and vulnerable segments of the people they represent.

Throughout this second year of my mandate, I made known my views on many other issues that concern the Portuguese or that are particularly relevant to the future of the Country: unemployment and inequality in the distribution of income; diminishing and ageing population in the hinterland; access to health care; transparency of public life and the fight against corruption; the quality of our democracy; the refurbishment of the historic and cultural heritage; innovation, technological progress and entrepreneurship; control of the unbalances in public accounts; operation of the systems of justice.


The “Routes”

The “Routes” have been one of the privileged tools I have used to alert the people to the causes in which we are all concerned, trying, as such, to muster the Portuguese to perceive the need for their defence and promotion.

I felt the need to add the Route to Heritage to the Routes to Social Inclusiveness and to Science which I launched in the first year of my mandate.

Once the four Campaigns of the Route to Inclusiveness had been completed, I decided to promote the Conference “Civic Commitment for Inclusiveness”, which was held in Santarém, in April 2007. With more than one thousand representatives of civic institutions from all over the Country, it was possible to analyse the results of this Route and emphasize the challenges placed before the Portuguese for the building of a fairer, more responsible and more cohesive society.

In this second year of my mandate, I carried out the 3rd Campaign of the Route to Science, dedicated to the Sciences and Technologies of the Sea, with the objective of emphasizing the potential of our Exclusive Economic Zone, one of the largest in Europe (18 times that of our land area), and to underline the relevance for the Country’s progress, of the development of strategies and devices that will allow taking improved advantage of the resources of the oceans and of the coastal areas.

The first part of this Campaign took place in the Azores, in the Island of Faial, during my official visit to that Autonomous Region, with the intention of becoming familiarized with the scientific research carried out by the Department of Oceanography and Fisheries of Azores University. The second stage of the Campaign included visits to the Port of Sines, to the Algarve Centre of Life Science, to the Southern Fisheries Research Centre (IPIMAR) and to Algarve University.

In the Summer of 2007 I launched the Route to Heritage, with the objective of sensitizing the various bodies, enterprises, schools and the general public to the importance of the recovery, defence and valuation of our cultural and historic heritage, to underline some of the successful experiences in this area and to call attention to the decadence which is threatening some of our monuments.

In addition I tried to convey the message that the preservation of the symbols of our historical and cultural identity is not just a more or less sentimental patriotic euphoria. It is an effective and real contribution towards the economic and social development of various regions of the Country and a source of inspiration so that we, as a People, look forward to and confidently prepare the future.

The first Campaign of the Route to Heritage took place in Lower Alentejo and included the official opening, in Santiago do Cacém, of the exhibition “The Path under the Stars – St. James and the Pilgrimage to Compostela”, for which organization a decisive role was played by the Department of the Historic and Artistic Heritage of the Beja Diocese, to whom is owed the refurbishment of the Church of Our Lady of Prazeres, in Beja, an exuberant example of Portuguese baroque, which was also included in the Campaign, as well as the Mértola archaeological field.

The second Campaign of the Route to Heritage took place in the littoral region to the North of the Mondego River, and was guided towards emblematic monuments linked to the foundation of Portugal as an independent State, such as the Santa Cruz Monastery and the Old Cathedral, in Coimbra, and the Castle of Santa Maria da Feira.

I took part in a meeting with university lecturers and researchers associated with heritage, to listen to their views on scientific activity in this area, on the conservation work being carried out and on new activities to be developed. A presentation of its candidacy as Unesco World Heritage was held in Coimbra University.

As innovatory instances, I had the opportunity to emphasize the role of citizen’s associations in the refurbishment and management of monuments, as was the case with those set up for the Castle of Santa Maria da Feira, for the Sacred Art Museum of the Arouca Monastery and for the Old Cathedral of Coimbra.


The President and Legislative Activity

The enactment of legislation issued by Parliament and by the Government is one of the most important and fundamental tasks of the President of the Republic.

In the first two years of my mandate I enacted 967 legislative documents: 146 issued from Parliament and 821 issued by the Government.

The operation of our semi-presidential system, in the sense that value is given to a regular channel of dialogue between the Civil House of the President of the Republic and the Presidency of the Council of Ministers or the Prime Minister’s Cabinet, with the aim to interpret the contents of Government legislation submitted for enactment, has functioned with fluidity. This does not mean that the President of the Republic is jointly responsible for the legislative acts of the Government, but rather that the Presidency is limited to the institutional cooperation which should exist between two sovereign bodies.

In these two years I exercised the right of veto on four decrees issued by Parliament and requested the preventive investigation on constitutionality of another four.

In the cases which I decided to return legislation to Parliament for reappraisal, I made a point that the messages which accompanied them were developed and deepened, in order to make clear the reasons for their vetoing, specifying, inclusively, the items with which I specifically disagreed.

In remitting legislation to the Constitutional Court I equally had the concern to make public the bases of the doubts, due to which I requested an appreciation of the respective constitutionality.

In the case of three legislative documents, I took care to accompany the enactment with messages addressed to Parliament, with the aim to explain my understanding of the matters at issue.

In three other cases, I sensed it necessary to explain to the Portuguese, by publishing a special notice, that the enactment of legislation does not signify the President of the Republic’s adhesion to its underlying political options, neither does it imply his agreement with all the legal provisions included in such legislation.

These were legislative documents which contained several precepts with which I entertained severe reserves, doubts or apprehensions, but which, after weighing all the interests in line and recognizing the legitimacy of the Government and of the majority that supports it in the choice of certain political options, I sensed, in conscience, that I should not hinder their coming into force.

In the constructive spirit that underlies the model of institutional cooperation that guides my presidency, I have always been concerned in making very clear that the use of the powers of veto or of submitting legislation to the appraisal of the Constitutional Court was determined by reasons of relevant national interest, after careful weighting, and not with any intent of promoting conflict with Parliament, or of weakening or of wearing out the Government, or yet to satisfy the interests of political forces or groups.

It is my understanding that the powers constitutionally attributed to the President of the Republic can be rigorously exercised without placing at risk the climate of political stability that the Country is so much in need in order to face its problems and difficulties.


The Portuguese Communities

I have tried to be faithful to the commitment I undertook in my electoral campaign to have special regard for the Portuguese and Luso-descendant communities spread around the world, and to promote and support their proximity to Portugal.

With this in mind, I set up, in my Civil House, a Consultancy for the Portuguese Communities, in order to keep me duly informed of the situation and concerns of our emigrants.

On March 9, 2007, when I completed the first year of my term of office as President of the Republic, I decided, as a symbolic gesture, to travel to Luxembourg to contact closely with the numerous resident Portuguese communities.

In June 2007, I visited the U.S.A. After officially opening, in Washington, the Exhibition “Portugal and the World in the 16th and 17th Centuries”, I travelled to the State of Massachusetts with the specific aim to contact the Portuguese communities in Boston, Fall River and New Bedford. Before boarding the plane on my way back to Portugal I took part in a convivial gathering with members of the Portuguese and Luso-descendant communities in Newark.

In my visit to Brazil, in March 2008, to take part in the evocative ceremonies of the two hundredth anniversary of the arrival of the Portuguese Court in Rio de Janeiro, I decided to celebrate the date of the second anniversary of my term of office in a gathering of representatives of the Portuguese community, undoubtedly the strongest link between Portugal and Brazil.

In addition to this I have undertaken to invite representatives of the communities abroad to be present at the official celebrations of the National Day of Portugal, of Camões and of the Portuguese Communities.

With these initiatives I have tried to underline the respect and regard with which I consider our emigrants and their families and the importance which I attribute to them in the midst of the Portuguese Nation, with relevance to their role in the defence and the assertion of our Culture and of our Language in the areas beyond our borders.

I have anyway been insisting on the thought that Portugal must also be considered, by our emigrants, as a Country of final destination, a Country which has gone through immense change and which will always welcome them, as well as their initiatives and the expertise they have accumulated while abroad.

Additionally, I have endeavoured that the Portuguese whose homes are on the Continent and in the Azores and Madeira be better aware of the cases of success, the examples of the Portuguese and Luso-descendants who asserted themselves and conquered prestige in their countries of residence.

This was the reason why I sponsored the setting up, in COTEC Portugal, of a Prize for Entrepreneurial Innovation intended to annually distinguish projects of Portuguese residents in foreign parts. Besides its specific virtual qualities, I regard it as a deserving tribute to the spirit of initiative and of innovation of our emigrants.


The Portuguese Presidency of the European Union

The presidency of the Council of the European Union, which Portugal exercised in the second half of 2007, had to be undertaken as a true national purpose. Portugal’s international prestige was at stake. Although the presidency was the Government’s responsibility, I kept it in close sight and, within the framework of my duties, tried to contribute towards its success. It was very clearly an area of strategic cooperation with the Government.

Prior to the beginning of the Presidency, I called a meeting of the Council of State in order to ensure the convergence of efforts, and to muster all the intervening parties around a task which I well knew, from personal experience, would be very demanding and require huge responsibility.

On the other hand, in the many contacts I had with foreign bodies, I endeavoured to disclose and outline the relevance of the priorities of the Portuguese Presidency and to obtain support for them, as well as to bring value to Portugal’s vocation for dialogue with other regions of the World, such as Africa and Brazil.

I specifically tried to emphasize the decisive importance, for the future of the European Union, in resolving the institutional deadlock resulting from the failure in the ratification of the Constitutional Treaty. I equally emphasized the need to again launch the political dialogue and the building of a strategic partnership with Africa and the relevance of the development of European policies in the fields of energy, climate change and the oceans.

During the year of 2007 I received, in audience, 26 Heads of State or of Government. The President of Ghana and acting President of the African Union officially visited Portugal, in order to concert efforts for the materialization of a Summit between the European Union and Africa and the design of a joint strategy.

In the beginning of September, I visited the European Parliament and the European Commission. In the speech I addressed to the European Parliament, I appealed to the convergence of the political wills of the Member States and of the European institutions so that the conclusion of the Reform Treaty – now known as the Treaty of Lisbon – could take place during the Portuguese Presidency, based on the commitment entered into during the German Presidency. Considering the challenges that concern the Europeans and Portugal’s specific interests, I equally tried to emphasize to the members of the European Parliament, the fundamental importance of solidarity as a corner stone of European integration and the decisive expression conferred on it by the economic cohesion and social policies.

Portugal took leave of the presidency of the European Union with great prestige. I had the occasion to praise, in the New Year Message I addressed to the people of Portugal, the role performed by the Government, as well as the tasks of the diplomats and experts involved in it.


Two Years with the Portuguese

Throughout this second year of presidential office I maintained the concern to remain faithful to the commitments I undertook during my electoral campaign and to be deserving of the trust placed upon me. I have endeavoured that my word and my actions so demonstrate to the people of Portugal. Not solely due to my personal conscience, but also whilst contributing towards the trust that citizens should have on their democratic institutions.

That was the spirit with which I decided to be a candidate to the Presidency of the Republic. This is the spirit with which I carry out the duties in which I was invested.


Aníbal Cavaco Silva
March, 2008