Marcelo warns PM: ‘don’t think of leaving mid-mandate’

MESSAGE || President Marcelo put the cherry on the cake of all the surprises of Portugal’s new-look Socialist government by warning the PM publicly in the speech he gave to mark the occasion that he had better not be thinking of leaving in the middle of what is a four-anda-half-year mandate.

In fact, he didn’t stop there. The country’s head of State who has already said he would certainly have chosen a different format for the new executive, “left the prime minister with a number of messages”, explain reports.

Beginning with a 15-minute discourse on the war in Ukraine, and how much the world has changed in the last few horror-filled weeks, the president moved back to the national stage, and what it means to have an ‘absolute majority’ for Mr Costa’s Socialist government.

It “is not synonymous with dictatorship”, he said. It simply allows the government “to do what has to be done”.

This includes dialogue with ‘interested parties’: “with entities and employers”.

It does not give the government “absolute power”, he reiterated – nor does it give Mr Costa the political leeway he might believe he has should he be enticed to a ‘different job’ (in Europe, for example).

Marcelo didn’t actually say this. He said that “it would not be acceptable, I am sure you know, that this face, this face that won (the Socialist’s absolute majority) ends up being substituted by another half way down the line”. Seeing the job through to the end “is the price of personal victories”, said Marcelo.

If such a speech was a surprise for Mr Costa, he certainly didn’t show it. He bounced straight into his rhythm, agreeing wholeheartedly that the country “expects a government that resolves problems and creates opportunities”.

His four ‘main objectives’ for what will be his third and final mandate are: “to respond to the climate emergency; assure digital transition; counter the ‘demographic winter’ (meaning the lop-sided population with too few children being born and large numbers of elderly) and combat inequalities.”