Latest news and stories about government policy in history in Portugal for expats and residents.
The President of the Republic and the president of the 25th of April Association made appeals for an end to wars. The controversy over the 25th of April Museum was left for the table conversation, which was also attended by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
As the Portuguese Constitution marks its 50th anniversary, the document faces renewed scrutiny regarding potential revisions, balancing its historical identity against the pressures of modern political adaptation and institutional change.
Manuel Carvalho da Silva analyzes the stalled Labour Code reform, highlighting the political gridlock and the failure to address structural issues like the public-private sector disparity, despite ongoing negotiations.
The return of former Prime Minister Passos Coelho to the political scene has generated significant excitement. Coelho has openly criticized his successor, Luís Montenegro, for failing to form a legislative agreement with Chega and IL, despite having a parliamentary majority. He suggests that an alliance with Chega could benefit the PSD, despite the party's historical stance against racist rhetoric. Coelho also questions Montenegro's commitment to reforms, highlighting his own past austerity measures that cut pensions and social support. His shifting positions raise concerns about his integrity and the authenticity of his reformist agenda.
The Labour Package represents a regression to 19th-century laws, raising concerns about its implications for modern policy and rights.
The EU has responded firmly to President Trump’s announcement of tariffs on several European countries over the Greenland dispute, expressing solidarity with Denmark and warning of a “dangerous spiral” that could damage transatlantic relations and even lead to suspension of parts of the trade agreement with the US. France, Sweden and the UK have rejected intimidation and pledged a coordinated European response, while the President of the European Council is coordinating a joint position and EU leaders have convened an emergency meeting to weigh diplomatic, economic and political options.
António Costa says this is a historic agreement between the European Union and Mercosur and rejected criticism that it favours Europe. According to the President of the European Council, it is a trade agreement but also one on investment.
Parliament has previously had to repeat the election for the Ombudsman when candidates included former minister Álvaro Laborinho Lúcio or constitutional law expert Jorge Miranda.
Portugal is one of the countries that hosts American troops: they are at Lajes Field in the Azores.
The Constitution is not a dead artefact or a document to be archived in a museum display case. It is alive, and it is precisely this vitality that makes it indispensable. At a time when hasty rhetoric about its replacement or exhaustion is multiplying, it is important to reaffirm the essential: the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic remains one of the most solid pillars of our democracy. Pedro Costa Gonçalves, Director of the Faculty of Law at the University of Coimbra, notes that recent commemorations of the 50th anniversary of the Constitution highlighted that while it can and should be revised, it must not be discarded. There is a crucial difference between updating and replacing, or between perfecting and dismantling. Recognizing the need for specific revisions reinforces the Constitution, which has demonstrated a remarkable capacity for adaptation over five decades. The Faculty of Law of Coimbra marked the occasion with a two-volume collective work reflecting on the past, present, and future of the Fundamental Law, serving as a reminder that the Constitution remains an object of study and commitment. Ultimately, a solid democracy is not built from a void, but on the foundations it has managed to erect and preserve.
The 50-year-old constitutional commitment to create administrative regions has remained unfulfilled, leaving the country with an outdated district-based structure. Despite various attempts at reform, including the Guterres government's failed regionalization referendum and the 2004 constitutional revision, the lack of progress has rendered the democratic promise of territorial cohesion largely inconsequential. The author argues that isolating single components of this deficit, as seen with the 2012 abolition of Civil Governments by the Passos Coelho administration, will continue to result in stagnation.
The ineptitude of the march's Organizing Committee, which every year allows the IL to display victimhood branding, may result in some immediate gains. But it is the product of a culture in which we do not want to live.
Patriotism performs this miracle; we are in favour of our country just as we are in favour of ourselves in a romantic conflict. (Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time)
João Pedro Louro, president of the JSD, comments on the importance of António José Seguro's speech at the solemn session commemorating April 25th.
The Prime Minister does not go into details. He only says that everything will be done “always in a spirit of freedom”.
A political commentary regarding a party that expresses nostalgia for the events of April 24th.
From left to right, there was praise and criticism on the occasion of the 52nd anniversary of April 25th. Catch up on the full speeches here.
52 years after the Carnation Revolution, the speeches at the April 25th solemn session by the President of the Republic and the President of the Assembly of the Republic placed transparency at the centre of political debate, but the figures reveal a country where the demands are greater than the capacity to implement them. António José...
António José Seguro defended the “transparency” of institutions and appealed to young people to be vigilant against attacks on democracy and freedom. Read here in full the first speech by President Seguro at a 25th of April session.
The 52nd anniversary of the 25th of April is marked by a solemn session in Parliament, with speeches from party representatives, the President of the Assembly of the Republic, and finally, the President of the Republic, who makes his debut speaking as head of state on the date marking the Revolution.
António José Seguro spoke this Saturday for the first time as President of the Republic at the solemn session of the 25th of April in Parliament.
The Left Bloc deputy began by greeting the deputies of the Constituent Assembly and stated that democracy forces us “to put up with one another.”
The solemn session commemorating the 52nd anniversary of the 25th of April Revolution was marked by speeches from party representatives, with President António José Seguro calling for greater transparency in political funding and warning against the erosion of democracy. The session featured debates on current issues such as the government's labour package, housing, and the rise of populism, while also highlighting ideological divisions between the political parties.
The solemn session commemorating the 52nd anniversary of the 25th of April, marked by the first speech by António José Seguro as President. Parties exchange accusations over the 'owners' of April.
On the day marking 52 years since the Carnation Revolution, António José Seguro made a direct appeal to the new generations to “stay alert”, with the President of the Republic warning that the freedom won in 1974 — which he described as “a birth” — is not a guaranteed achievement forever, and that it must be “cared for”.
I may seem pessimistic, but the truth is that I do not believe we are evolving in the direction of community, fraternity, equality, and social justice. Opinion by São José Almeida
The superiority of democracy is absolute. Neither three Salazares could hide the truth, nor would three Venturas be capable of inventing facts. Opinion by António Barreto
Seguro emphasizes the importance of upholding the values and legacy of the April 25th Revolution.
A serious museum about the 25th of April cannot be an instrument for personal promotion or a vehicle for spreading a particular vision of history. But we are not going to have a museum, we are going to have a navel-gazing exercise.
