Santos Silva emphasizes the role of parliament in external action and as the “house of the territories”

This Thursday, the President of the Assembly of the Republic called the Parliament a “chamber of territories” in all its diversity and emphasized the importance of its external actions, considering that it adds pluralism in this area to the government’s own powers.

These positions were defended by Augusto Santos Silva at the presentation of his book entitled “Singular in the Plural” at a meeting that took place after the last plenary session of this legislative body and at which the vice-presidents of the parliament such as Edite Estrela and Adao, Silva, ministers were present José Luis Carneiro and Ana Catarina Mendez or PS Secretary General Pedro Nuno Santos.

Having heard from the parliamentary leaders of the PS Eurico Brillante Dias and the PCP Paula Santos, as well as about two dozen deputies from various political forces, the President of the Assembly of the Republic supported the thesis that “diversity” is a fundamental element inherent in the parliamentary institution.

Referring to his role as President of the Assembly of the Republic and the fact that he was elected as a PS deputy from the Beyond Europe circle, the former Minister of State and Foreign Affairs described more than just parliament as the “house of democracy”. , representing the pluralism of opinions existing in society, but also as a “house of territories”.

According to Augusto Santos Silva, parliament is the only institution that combines five verbs: represent, legitimize, legislate, discuss and control.

“All these verbs are necessary for democracy, and the function of the President of the Assembly of the Republic is to ensure the functioning of this structure. It works well internally, carrying out its functions impartially and with moral authority, but it also works externally. “Externally, because parliament is also the home of the territories” in all their diversity, he added.

The former Minister of State and Foreign Secretary also spoke about the value of Parliament’s external action.

Observing that the conduct of foreign policy was the responsibility of the government as a sovereign body, he defended the thesis that this external action, for which the executive was responsible, could and should be enriched by the additional role of parliament as an institution representing the plurality of the country.

In a book presentation, economist, university professor and former independent PS MP Paulo Trigo Pereira predicted “difficult times” for the country and for the functioning of the Assembly of the Republic.

He advised the next President of the Assembly of the Republic to read the book by Augusto Santos Silva and explained: “In the next legislature we are likely to see a situation of political fragmentation and instability.”

Also at the book launch, retired professor and president of the parliamentary education committee, Alexander Quintanilla, warned of the dangers of inciting hatred and insulting attitudes towards those who consider themselves different.

“Knowledge and democracy take time. These are always proposals under development, they are based on doubts and fear of certainty. But politics doesn’t have time. It is thanks to this confrontation that citizenship becomes more stable,” added the independent MP of the PS.