Safe. “Democracy is transparency, it is not darkness and we have a lot of darkness in Portuguese democracy”

The candidate for President of the Republic António José Seguro warned that, if elected, he will demand, in the process of forming governments, guarantees of compliance with transparency rules and ethical principles, to avoid surprises. “In terms of the formation of governments, it is important that we, from the beginning, can apply rules and apply principles so that we do not have surprises when carrying out our positions”, he declared, in an interview with the Lusa agency.

António José Seguro argued that the President of the Republic “has a lot of space” to intervene “in conversations” and “in dialogue with the prime minister-designate” in the process that ranges from the consultation of political parties following the results of legislative elections to the appointment of the government.

“A little while ago I said that I want to be a demanding President and that is what I will be. Also demanding in the ethical dimension of public servants”, he said.

Asked whether he considers that the current President of the Republic has not done enough to achieve this objective, António José Seguro refused to make assessments at that level, opting to emphasize that, from his point of view, transparency is “a condition of democratic life”.

“We need trust and credibility,” he said, seeking to demonstrate that all his proposals and his political path “go in that direction”.

Asked about the controversy surrounding the company Spinumviva, which the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, passed on to his children after taking office, António José Seguro refused to comment on the specific case, as well as any potential scenario, claiming that he does not want to limit himself.

“I will not make a statement that limits my presidential powers. When there are these contexts and these situations I will act. (…) I will be a constitutional President and I will demand a bulletproof ethical dimension”, he declared.

However, he argued that anyone who intends to hold a position in sovereign bodies must accept that “transparency is part of this contract of trust”. “Hiding undermines this contract of trust and we need trust for credibility among voters and elected officials”, he considered.

Politicians are not obliged to respond only when there are elections but “at all times”. In this sense, declarations of interests “serve precisely for this, so that there is clarity and there are no doubts”.

“Democracy is transparency, it is not darkness and we have a lot of darkness in Portuguese democracy, we need more transparency”, said the candidatewho revealed that he had made the position of minister available to the prime minister, at the time António Guterres, after a journalist asked him about an “activity he had had, a possible connection” to a company.

Seguro said that, despite having answered the questions “conscientiously and calmly”, he told the prime minister that “if there is the slightest doubt, the slightest suspicion that has not been clarified”, his resignation has been handed down.

“I had a clear conscience that I had done absolutely nothing as it turned out and it was stated in the article that was written that it was an investigative article, everything was clarified. But if there was the slightest suspicion and, despite me being innocent, what I should have done was not contribute so that the position I was in, which is a democratic position, could be affected”.