Lisbon, Oct. 8, 2025 (Lusa) - The Portuguese president on Wednesday called for the "broadest possible" political agreement to enable state reform and stressed the importance of dialogue between the government, parliament and the presidency for the country's political stability.
"The Government is in a minority, so it is a relationship that requires agreements. And these, on state reform, are agreements of state. Agreements of state are fundamental. A minority government cannot move forward without these agreements (...) these laws [on state reform] require a majority, and these laws require the broadest possible sustained agreement," said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
The country's president was speaking at the closing of the Millennium Talks Lisbon - COTEC Innovation Summit conference at the FIL trade fair building in Lisbon.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who began by saying that this would be one of his last speeches as President on the Portuguese economy and society, addressed the announced state reform to point out that although there are "very important" structural changes to be made, what "really matters is knowing what will happen in the next six months".
The Head of State then argued that the need to know what to expect in the short term requires political stability, which he considered "a sensitive issue". For Marcelo, this stability is “fundamental” for a period of at least one legislative term to "run smoothly".
Political stability, he said, must be verified, first, in local government, but also in the "ability to make quick decisions", in the "relationship between the executive and parliamentary bodies" and also between the government and the president.
"A partnership between the country's president and the government is fundamental. It is essential, our system is semi-presidential, it is neither presidential nor parliamentary, and this means that stability is only possible with a great capacity for dialogue between the country's president, the prime minister and, therefore, the government and, of course, the parliament," he added.
The president argued that it was "this three-pronged approach" between the three sovereign bodies that made it possible to overcome the state's excessive deficit and take "very difficult steps in the banking sector", emphasising that it was not enough for the prime minister and the country's president to agree to push these changes forward, but rather to ensure that "there was a minimum of parliamentary support" so that "there would be no problems with interpellations, reformulations or controversies".
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa also gave as examples of relevant consensus the fight against the pandemic and the importance of balancing public accounts, a consensus which, he added, is now "undisputed" after a long time to achieve it.
The head of state also highlighted the progressive change in mentality regarding the role of businesses in the economy of the governments that have come and gone during his terms of office as president, stating that even those with more left-wing support bases "had to gradually shift towards a more business-friendly stance".
"The first government was less pro-business than the second, and the second less than the third. And theoretically, by definition, this one is now asserting itself as being as or more pro-business and pro-private initiative than previous governments. So it's an opportunity," he added.
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