President warns Portugal needs to maintain “courage and union” it showed during pandemic
Today’s Council of State has ended with President Marcelo addressing the nation, warning of “the enormous costs of war”.
“There is no way to pretend” these costs “will not fall in one way or another on the lives of us all”, he said – exhorting the nation to show the same “courage and union” exhibited during the worst days of the pandemic.
“What has happened has, had, and will have enormous costs in the lives of all of us, particularly in Europe. We have to face them”.
Essential goods have to be assured; the functioning of the economy has to be assured; businesses have to be supported – those in crucial sectors even more – and the poorest members of society will need to be helped.
“Language” also must be “contained”, he said – having said this earlier today, as if in warning to politicians that now is not the time for party political bickering and posturing.
It’s the time for “clarity of positions, serenity in posture”.
“Just like in the pandemic, because we believed it was worth doing everything, absolutely everything, for peace to arrive, and arrive quickly”.
Words today are suddenly becoming very serious.
