The president of the European Council remembers Francisco Pinto Balsemão as “a great figure in the country”, both as a politician and as a media entrepreneur. First when founding Expresso, “an important space for seeking liberalization of the regime”, and then when he created private television, SIC. “People no longer remember, but that period of cavaquism was a terrible period of governmentalization and suffocation of freedom of expression, through the total governmentalization of RTP, and the SIC marked a moment of openness, of freedom, of fresh air”says António Costa to SIC/Expresso in Brussels.
Both were prime ministers. In 2021, Costa paid tribute to Balsemão, also marking 40 years of the VII Constitutional Government. “Perhaps the most important thing was the way he dialogued with the Socialist Party to carry out the constitutional review of 82, which institutionalized truly the civilist, pluralist democracy that we have todaywhich took the first steps towards having a more open economy”, recalls António Costa. “As prime minister he made some important reforms: one was the first criminal code of democracy, approved by that government”.
The executive led by Balsemão was also decisive in “consolidating democracy” and ensuring accession to the then EEC. The request to join the project had been made before, by Mário Soares, who would later sign membership in 1985. However, the years 81 to 83 were “very intense negotiations with the European Union” and a “very important contribution”, to ensure compliance with all accession criteria. To highlight the importance of this Government, as Prime Minister, António Costa paid tribute in the middle of the pandemic.
“He was always very interested and always very involved in European issues. Despite being political adversaries, we have always maintained an excellent relationship of enormous cordiality.empathy. He was a very affable man and, therefore, it was always very easy to talk to him, especially on matters on which we essentially agreed”, highlights the President of the European Council.
“It’s a big loss, but anyway, I think few people can say that they left such a relevant mark in the country’s history, both as a politician and as a media entrepreneur”, he concludes.