Miguel A. Lopes/ Lusa
Henrique Gouveia and Melo.
“As a citizen, I wish I could choose between program A, B or C. To do so, I would like to have concrete proposals.”
The Admiral in the Reserve Gouveia and Melo Today it argued that in the campaign of the next legislative elections it should be discussed proposals and not if the politician “A” is more immaculate than the opponent, and refused to be non -artist or authoritarian.
Henrique Gouveia and Melo, former chief of the staff of the Armada and potential candidate for president, spoke at a lunch debate promoted by the International Club of Portugal, in a hotel in Lisbon.
In answers to questions of citizens present at this lunch, the admiral began by addressing the question of the system of justice. On this topic, he considered that “the only temptation in which the judicial power cannot fall is in a pillory justice,” that is, “a mediated justice, because it erodes its own sense of justice.”
However, more than justice, the admiral was mainly confronted with issues related to the “Political class behavior”.
At this point, Gouveia and Melo lamented that “ Hallow to discuss the behavior of the politician A, B, C, and it seems that it is not interested in discussing what are the political options”.
“On the contrary, as a citizen, I wish I could choose between program A, B or C. To do so, I would like to have concrete proposals“, Counterattacks.
Regarding the current political climate, the former chief of the Armada Staff was a little further in his criticism, even leaving warnings about the future quality of politicians.
“Let’s risk discussing if so -and -so A, B or C is more immaculate or less immaculate than the other instead of discuss what each one has to offer us as a ruler? “He asked, before seeking to highlight the beneficial character of the professional experience prior to the exercise of political positions.
“At one point, no one can do politicsexcept a party frame that never did anything but paddles. This would be terrible for the political system. Care must be taken and not overdo it. It is important for our leaders to have a republican ethics, but not to look for anything and anything, because at one point we can want to be with angels without governance capacity, ”he said.
Then the Admiral rejected that it is authoritarian or against the parties.
“I defend the parties, but the parties are not the person. The party is the set of ideas that a group of people defend. If we are going to fog the party, then we have problems, ”he said, without specifying a concrete situation.
In this context, it also made a question of distinguishing authority and authoritarianism and, regarding consensus, military life and civil society. Gouveia and Melo then acknowledged that in military life “ action prevails over consensus”.
“In military life, there is no time for consensus. The situations are so serious, complex and urgent that, if we were adopting solutions by consensus, we would not have a single victory. Which does not mean that, changing this life, do not realize that the model of civil society is a totally distinct model and that it is not used to, to live in a different model,” he said.
Despite the differences between military and civil life, Gouveia and Melo added that in the navy most of the options is taken by consensus, “because it is very difficult to take a group of forced men to do anything.”
“It is one thing to be in an aircraft and make decisions. Another thing is to be on a ship, which has 200 men there and is much more difficult. Therefore, these consensus, somehow, are established, only in a more hierarchical and more disciplined system, but with a lot of internal discussion,” he added.
