Costa evokes ‘unshakable optimism’ in Mario Soares ahead of Marcelo

This Thursday, the Prime Minister demonstrated to the President of the Republic the “unshakable optimism” and the strong principles of Mario Soares, which allowed him to always defend the strategic autonomy of the PS and support the formation of the Gueringons.

This position was defended by António Costa, who stated that he spoke in his capacity as Secretary General of the PS, at the presentation of the revised and expanded edition of Mário Soares’ book “Portugal Amordaçado, Depoimento sobre os anos do fascism”, the day on which the former President of the Republic would have turned 99 years old.

This meeting is preceded by a few hours by the formalization of the government’s resignation, which will be limited by administrative acts, a decree that the President of the Republic promised to sign this Thursday evening.

While Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa sat in the front row of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation auditorium, António Costa recalled the circumstances under which Mário Soares, while in exile, wrote the book Portugal Amordasado, published in France in 1972, two years before the end Estado Novo regime in Portugal.

“Mario Soares then believed that the fall of the regime was inevitable. At that time, the unshakable optimism of Mario Soares caused less irritation,” commented the still socialist leader, and the head of state listened to him and immediately caused laughter in the room.

António Costa recalled Mario Soares’s train journey from Paris to Santa Apolonia station in Lisbon a few days after 25 April. A trip he considered necessary for PS to become a party with strong popularity.

The current General Secretary of the PS also emphasized the “firmness of principles” of the former President of the Republic, a characteristic that, from his point of view, could explain the fact that in Portugal, in contrast to what happened in Russia, “the Mensheviks defeated the Bolsheviks in the street” .

This strong personality as the first leader of the PS, according to the prime minister, always allowed him wide tactical flexibility without ever questioning the strategic autonomy of his party.

At this point, he recalled that Mário Soares formed governments with CDS and PSD and that his opponents often accused him of being a “master of boat control.”

“This streamlined navigation was not inconsistent. Mario Soares was confident that he could overcome obstacles without ever losing his way,” said António Costa, before recalling that the former head of state supported the creation of Geringonça in 2015.

Here, the still socialist leader left a message for his party members: “Some supposed heirs of Mario Soares say that Gueringonza was a betrayal of Mario Soares. However, it turns out that he was alive and was one of his main supporters.” – he declared, receiving applause.

According to António Costa, Mário Soares, throughout his political life after 25 April, was well aware of the need to defend the strategic autonomy of the PS, first in 1974 with its struggle against Trotskyist influence among the Portuguese socialists, and then to prevent the emergence of the PDP. from the occupation of the social democratic space in the country.

“PS has absorbed many of the personal qualities of Mario Soares. He loved freedom. It was Manuel Alegre who said that in the PS we were all against each other, but in the end we were united,” he added.

The meeting was attended by the Vice-President of the Assembly of the Republic Edite Estrela, the Minister of Culture Pedro Adan e Silva, the Governor of the Bank of Portugal Mario Centeno, the member of the Council of State Manuel Alegre, the founders of the PS representatives such as José Leitan and António Reis, as well as the former European Commissioner António Vitorino, as well as other individuals.