There are impasses that are merely circumstantial, the result of conflicting political calendars or natural divergences between party forces. And there are others that, due to their duration and repetition, become symptoms of a structural blockage. The current impasse in the appointment of people to external bodies falls into this second category and reveals a country having difficulty guaranteeing the functioning of its own institutions.
We are not facing a one-off delay, but a process that lasts for months, successively postponed, eroding the credibility of the system. What should have been a normal exercise in institutional functioning turned into a persistent cycle of blockages.
This impasse did not arise by chance. Portugal is not blocked by a lack of competent people to occupy positions, but by the political system, which transforms choices that should serve the public interest into instruments of party influence.
The PSD, which should have led the process with a sense of State and negotiating capacity, failed. He has proven incapable of building understandings, has lost political control and has limited himself to pushing decisions with his belly.
The PS, for its part, managed to do worse. He opted for a strategy of conscious blocking, seeking to condition the functioning of institutions to his convenience. This is not a democratic opposition, it is an attempt to pressure the system until it produces the desired result, since it did not obtain it at the polls and is slow to accept that its political influence has diminished.
It is important, however, to make a distinction: not all parties have contributed in the same way to the impasse. There are those who, legitimately, seek to assert their rights based on the representation they hold, as Chega has done. Still, one cannot fail to point out the incoherence of the party that spent years denouncing what it called the “pots” of the system and that, at the first opportunity, is irreducible in occupying them, unmasking the propaganda it has made over the years. The fight for “pots” for the Chega party and the Chega party constitutes a complete kitchen train.
The result of this impasse is the country’s blockade. Bodies that should guarantee oversight and balance remain incomplete or paralyzed. And when institutions fail, citizens’ trust deteriorates.
The Liberal Initiative has defended the choice of independent names, technically competent and recognized for their merit, not as a compromise of circumstance, but as a principle. Strong institutions require people free from party dependencies and executive power.
Breaking this impasse is not just a question of timetable, but of democratic maturity. We need functioning institutions. Either the political system adapts or it will contribute to democratic degradation. The Liberal Initiative is prepared to assume this responsibility and contribute to resolving the blockage.
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