Rebelo de Sousa: “I will not dissolve the parliament unless something from another world happens”

“This majority, with six years of power behind them and born in the middle of the war, he was born tired, overheated (…), but something from another world would have to happen to call for elections,” he said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in an interview given on the occasion of his seven years as President of the Republic of Portugal.

However, the head of state assured that “this does not mean that he rejects the authority to dissolve the Parliament, but they would have to understand pathological problems which are not respected for now,” he said. the place of those Red lines in the proper implementation of funds from the European Union’s recovery plan, although he believes that it should be rationalized and managed better.

In the entire interview given to the newspaper Public and the RTP channel, the Portuguese president assesses some of the hottest current issues in the country and in Europe, with an assessment of the performance of António Costa’s socialist government, which this March marks one year since its inauguration with an absolute majority. “The prime minister and I have slightly different readings; he sees the glass as half full and I see it as half empty“, he expressed in a critical tone, not ceasing to recognize the responsibility of the executive power in problems such as numerous dismissals of high-ranking officials or constant strikes.

However, he justified the socialist executive power when considering the unfavorable international situation of war and inflation, which harmed them before the investiture itself.

In addition to ensuring that, in principle, “I want governments to fulfill their mandate”, Rebelo de Sousa emphasized the importance of having an alternative to calling elections. “There is an arithmetic alternative, but not a political one,” he said, noting that the right would already add more votes than the left. However, go an impossible coalitiongiven the categorical refusal of the Liberal Initiative to govern with the extreme right-wing Chega.

The president, who hopes that “Portugal will be reinvented, not just rebuilt”, accepts that in recent years “social cohesion has been greatly affected” and that “the war forces us to manage from day to day, and we cannot fix in the short term.”

“Well positioned”

Despite the criticism, he admits that “reliable accounts are important and we are well positioned”, as “2022 ended better than it seemed” thanks to exports and tourism. “We will have to see if there will be a slight increase in unemployment Is it temporary or a trend?», which may mark a change of course for the executive power, which has benefited from low unemployment so far.

Warned that “Government control will be very rigorous”, the close scrutiny to which he promises to subject the correct application of the recovery plan and its means. Despite the decline in the popularity of the Socialists, polls show that Portuguese people agree with their president and want Costa to complete his term.