President of the Republic António José Seguro spoke on October 5, for the first time, at the ceremony marking the establishment of the Republic, in Praça do Município, in Lisbon, after the mayor, Carlos Moedas. Present were the president of the Assembly of the Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, and Prime Minister Luís Montenegro (Jornal de Negócios, RTP). Seguro called for “a new political culture” that leaves aside the “culture of trenches” and seeks solutions with a “sense of urgency,” and said that the Republic only fulfills its function when every person feels they have a place in it. In the preceding days, in Strasbourg, at the Council of Europe, he had warned of “attempts to roll back rights.” At the ceremony the flag was also raised on the balcony of the Salão Nobre of the Paços do Concelho.
It is the speech in which the head of state usually sets the tone of the term. The call for convergence comes at a time when the Government and the PS are negotiating the State Budget for 2027.
For citizens, the President’s tone influences public debate and political stability, which shapes decisions such as the Budget, pensions and investment.
For the PSD, the speech was “very positive” and calls for a more constructive political culture.
For Chega, the PCP and the IL, the speech was vague, contradictory or too favorable to an understanding between the Government and the PS.
Calls for understanding please those in government and irritate those in opposition, so the real test lies in the facts: what the President does when the Budget reaches Parliament and how he uses his powers. The speech is worth reading in full before drawing conclusions.
RTP, Jornal de Negócios, Notícias ao Minuto (Oct. 5, 2026)
On October 5, Seguro calls for an end to the “culture of trenches” and for solutions with a “sense of urgency”
In his first speech as President of the Republic at the ceremony marking the establishment of the Republic, António José Seguro called for “a new political culture.” Chega, the PCP and Liberal Initiative criticized it; the PSD praised it.
The President of the Republic spoke yesterday, for the first time, at the October 5 ceremony in Praça do Município, next to the Paços do Concelho (City Hall), in Lisbon, after the mayor, Carlos Moedas, with the president of the Assembly of the Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, and Prime Minister Luís Montenegro present. Seguro called for a “new political culture” that leaves aside the “culture of trenches” and seeks solutions with a “sense of urgency,” and said that the Republic only fulfills its function when every person feels they have a place in it (RTP, Notícias ao Minuto). The week before, at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, he had warned of “attempts to roll back rights.”
Reactions were divided. Chega called the speech “more of the same,” for appealing for unity between the PSD and the PS and for “sending messages” to the party. The PCP, through João Ferreira, found it contradictory, because it appealed for understandings around policies and politicians who, in its reading, led to today’s problems. Liberal Initiative criticized the praise for the understanding between the Government and the PS on the Budget, and PSD MP Alexandre Poço found it “very positive.” DailyDrop has not read the full text of the speech and quotes only what the press has published.