The former President of the Republic, Cavaco Silva, said this Monday that the hallmark of the PSD is its “cross-class approach” and not the origin of its roots”, after the current head of state referred to the origins of the Prime Minister.
“What distinguishes a Social Democratic family, activists and party supporters is not the origin of its roots, continent or islands, countryside, city, town or village, inland or coast, plain or countryside. mountains,” says Cavaco Silva in an interview with Público newspaper, dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the PSD, published today.
Last month, President of the Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa caused controversy at a dinner with foreign journalists when he said Prime Minister Luis Montenegro’s style was “totally different” from that of the leader of the previous government. , António Costa, because “he is a man from a deep, urban, rural, urban country with a rural behavior.”
Two days later, when asked to explain why he associated Luis Montenegro with “rural characteristics”, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa replied that he saw in the current Prime Minister a connection with “the deep PSD, which is a PSD with a rural-urban base ” .
In his opinion, “the Prime Minister comes from these SDP roots, although he is much younger, he has a lot in common with these roots.”
This Monday, in an interview with Público, Cavaco Silva said that the social democratic family is not distinguished by the origin of its roots, but rather by its “cross-class approach”.
“It unites workers, rural workers, fishermen, businessmen, farmers, traders, civil servants, social institutions and the private sector, artists, scientists, professionals, young people and the elderly in defense of the principles and values of social democracy, in a convergence of visions for the future of Portugal and in hopes of realizing their personal dreams,” he said.
Cavaco Silva also recalled: “I remember that the first explanatory meeting I held in the early days of the PSD about the social democratic project, at the request of the party leadership, was for small traders in Lisbon in a room in Largo do Rato.