Former President of the Republic Mário Soares made more of the waves he has become popular for in recent years by declaring that it is time “to stop the dictatorship” gathering force in Portugal. A dictatorship, he claims, that is forming “without anyone realising yet that it is a dictatorship”.
The latest swipe at government policymakers came as the 89-year-old accepted the prize for ‘Personality of the Year 2013’ at Palácio Foz in Lisbon this week.
Feisty as ever, Soares accepted the award from the Association of Foreign Press in Portugal, declaring: “We owe the national holiday of April 25 exclusively to the military of April. It is good to say this as we approach the month of April, he said, “knowing that the idea of what the government intends to do is so ridiculous that it amounts to nothing”.
Presenting Soares with his award for the “important role” he plays in the history and democracy of Portugal, Lisbon Mayor António Costa said it would be “difficult to find anyone else in 2013 who better deserved it”.
“Mário Soares is one of the leading voices in Portuguese society,” affirmed Costa.
The ceremony, in the palace’s hall of mirrors, brought together leading figures in the nation’s Socialist party, including former prime minister José Sócrates and honorary party leader Almeida Santos.
