Analyst believes former vaccine czar, Gouveia e Melo, “will be unbeatable” if he stands for president
With President Marcelo’s final year of what will be his 10-year mandate looming, analysts are already discussing ‘who will replace him?’ while the one ‘wild card’ – the lofty Chief of Staff of the Navy, and former ‘internationally renowned’ vaccine czar of Portugal – Henrique Gouveia e Melo is looking more and more like he will be throwing his hat into the ring.
Interviewed recently by RTP, the admiral insisted he will only be ‘free’ to make any kind of decision either way on December 28, when his post as Chief of Staff of the Navy comes to an end.
But, as media commentators keep saying, he is already one of the most talked about names when it comes to the 2026 presidential elections.
Asked outright by RTP as to his intentions, he said: “I’m not going to answer that question because I can’t say ‘yes’” – this being because active military personnel in Portugal are prohibited from getting involved in politics.
But, he added, “it’s not the political elite or a group of commentators” who will decide the future.
In short, he ‘could be a candidate if he feels useful to Portugal’… and being of use to his country has been his ethos for the last 45 years.
For many, this was “practically confirmation” that 65-year-old Gouveia e Melo means to run for president in 2026.
For a start, in his conversation with RTP he hinted that he may not want to be reappointed as Chief of Staff of the Navy (even if the government suggest it): “On December 28 I’ll be free,” were his words.
Taking part in a podcast for Público (Gouveia e Melo, the next president for Portugal?) analyst Ana Sá Lopes says she always thought the admiral would be a candidate. His public interventions during the pandemic vaccination campaign showed “there is a politician there”.
In her opinion, Gouveia e Melo is already a presidential candidate, even if he can’t announce it publicly just yet.
“And he could be unbeatable (…) He has characteristics that make him an unbeatable candidate, not within the party bubble, but with the people (…) it’s a “phenomenon that can be a winner”, says Lopes, referring to Gouveia e Melo being “an anti Marcelo” option.
“At the moment, the electorate may want to have an anti-Marcelo president – someone who restores some institutional dignity to the office”, she ventures.
What did she mean by that? “A president that doesn’t talk every day on the beach in his trunks…”
For those who fear the return of a military man as president could look like a step backwards for the country, Gouveia e Melo had his own answer, ‘considering the current international context, with a war in Europe and the political situation in the United States, people might see a military man at the helm as favourable’.
In final analysis, the decision is “up to the electorate”, he stressed. Although having the media on one’s side might be a help.
Source material: ZAP/ Público
