en 
This statement was made in an interview with Francisco Pinto
Balsemão, for the podcast "Leave the world better", launched by the
chairman of the board of directors of the Impresa group to mark the 50th
anniversary of the newspaper Expresso.
During this conversation, divided into three parts of about
25 minutes, the PSD founder and former prime minister asks Marcelo Rebelo de
Sousa “why did he apply for a second term”, if he “felt he had an obligation”.
"Pandemic, pandemic. If there hadn’t been a pandemic, I
wouldn't apply", replied the head of state. "I had promised my
grandson, I had promised myself. It was five brutal years", he justified.
The President of the Republic pointed to the fires of 2017,
the emergence of inorganic movements and populisms and the beginning of the Covid-19
pandemic as exhausting challenges in his first term, which ran from 2016 to
2021.
"I understood that, in fact, I should give way to
someone else, at the age I already had, with the way I exercise the presidency,
which is with proximity, which is a brutal physical effort", he added.
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His private promises to his relatives while he was attempting to run for 2nd mandate- can´t comment, as he didn´t tell us this was the reason back then. However, I distinctly remember reading (IN PORTUGUESE, not here, not PT Resident) his own words, that it would be a very bad idea to change presidents in the middle of a pandemic (“Salazar, come back, all is forgiven!!”). I also remember watching a debate between him and the only other candidate (Ms Ana Gomes) where she was made to backpedal when the subject was Rui Pinto (it was a twist to me, I naively thought decent ppl would be defended). After that, I´m not so sure Portuguese had a good option. Even looking at just the 1 mandate, if I were asked bf Mr. Rebelo de Sousa being president if he would be so supporting of maintaining the pbs of our status quo, I´d say “No way, plus he is licenced in Law, there are lots of pbs relating to corruption and implementing actual justice.” So now seeing him acting like the martyr that he is not, bringing up stuff he chose not to mention while running again (family promises and what not) smells like lame excuses told too late.
By guida from Lisbon on 18 Jul 2022, 04:10
Perhaps you are forgetting Guida, he is a 'politician'!
By Greg from Other on 18 Jul 2022, 10:27