Senhor Dr. Pedro Passos Coelho, caríssimo Doutor Kyriakos Mitsotakis, minhas senhoras e meus senhores, todos, ou quase todos, na sala, sabem que os nossos jantares-conferência se iniciam sempre com um momento cultural. Trata-se da escolha e da leitura de poemas pelos grupos da Universidade de Verão.

Hoje é a vez dos Grupos Laranja e Bege. O Grupo Laranja, pela voz do Gonçalo Gomes, vai ler o poema Horizonte , de Fernando Pessoa, na sua obra Mensagem.

O Grupo Laranja escolheu este poema por ser uma evocação, por parte de um grande poeta português, à mais gloriosa época da nossa História. Mas, acima de tudo, pela sua mensagem que é intemporal. Devemos sempre procurar conquistar os nossos medos e ultrapassar os obstáculos que se nos colocam, de forma a irmos longe e conquistarmos tudo aquilo a que nos propusermos.

Depois, pelo Grupo Bege, através da Rania Barbosa, vamos ouvir o poema "Em que língua escrever”, de Maria Odete Costa Semedo. O Grupo Bege escolheu este poema enquanto homenagem à herança cultural e linguística portuguesa disseminada mundialmente, com especial carinho por Guiné-Bissau. A língua portuguesa é a principal herança que os portugueses deixaram às suas antigas colónias. A linguagem é um instrumento utilizado no relacionamento dos homens, é um vetor que o homem criou pela necessidade de comunicar. É uma das características mais importantes da identidade de um povo e um dos maiores bens que temos. Os que vão neles a levam, e a espalham pelo mundo, e foi assim que o português se tornou numa das línguas mais faladas no mundo inteiro.

Assim, falaremos todos a mesma língua, que é ouvida com olhos, dita com gestos, sentida no íntimo.

Ficamos, portanto, com o Gonçalo Gomes e com a Rania Barbosa.

Horizonte

Ó mar anterior a nós, teus medos

Tinham coral e praias e arvoredos.

Desvendadas a noite e a cerração,

As tormentas passadas e o mistério,

Abria em flor o Longe, e o Sul sidério

Esplendia sobre as naus da iniciação.

Linha severa da longínqua costa -

Quando a nau se aproxima ergue-se a encosta

Em árvores onde o Longe nada tinha;

Mais perto, abre-se a terra em sons e cores:

E, no desembarcar, há aves, flores,

Onde era só, de longe a abstrata linha.

O sonho é ver as formas invisíveis

Da distância imprecisa, e, com sensíveis

Movimentos da esperança e da vontade,

Buscar na linha fria do horizonte

A árvore, a praia, a flor, a ave, a fonte -

Os beijos merecidos da Verdade.

[Aplausos]

Em que língua escrever

Em que língua escrever
As declarações de amor?
Em que língua cantar
As histórias que ouvi contar?

Em que língua escrever
Contando os feitos das mulheres
E dos homens do meu chão?
Como falar dos velhos
Das passadas e cantigas?
Falarei em crioulo?

Falarei em crioulo.
Mas que sinais deixar
Aos netos deste século?
Ou terei de falar
Nesta língua lusa
E eu sem arte nem musa
Mas assim terei palavras para deixar
Aos herdeiros do nosso século
Em crioulo gritarei
A minha mensagem
Que de boca em boca
Fará a sua viagem
Deixarei o recado
Num pergaminho
Nesta língua lusa
Que mal entendo

No caminho da vida.
Os netos e herdeiros
Saberão quem fomos.

Obrigado.

[Aplausos]

Muito boa noite. Tenho a honra de fazer o último brinde da Universidade de Verão 2016. E, como é habitual começo por agradecer a presença dos nossos convidados. Hoje, com o Doutor Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Presidente da Nova Democracia da Grécia e o Dr. Pedro Passos Coelho, Presidente do nosso partido.

O Doutor Kyriakos Mitsotakis nasceu a 4 de março de 1968. De 2013 a 2015 serviu o povo grego como Ministro da Reforma Administrativa e do Governo Electrónico. Sendo um eminente político grego foi eleito, a 10 de Janeiro deste ano, como novo Líder da Nova Democracia.

Doutor Kyriakos Mitsotakis, uma vez mais, muito obrigado pela sua presença no último Jantar-Conferência da Universidade de Verão 2016.

Dr. Pedro Passos Coelho, como sabe é, para nós, uma honra enorme ter aqui o nosso Presidente do Partido e futuro Primeiro-Ministro de Portugal. Muito obrigado. [Aplausos]

Não posso terminar este brinde sem deixar de agradecer ao nosso Reitor Carlos Coelho e a toda a restante organização da Universidade de Verão que nos proporcionaram a todos nós, alunos, uma das mais fantásticas semanas da nossa vida. Todos nós saíremos amanhã de Castelo de Vide muito mais enriquecidos. Um agradecimento também muito especial à minha equipa e à nossa Conselheira Juliana. Vocês foram incansáveis. Muito obrigado. [Aplausos]

Termino partilhando este sentimento: na segunda-feira, quando tudo começou, já conhecia alguns de vós, outros fui conhecendo ao longo desta fantástica semana de trabalho, mas eramos apenas conhecidos. Amanhã, quando tudo terminar, e quando terminar esta Universidade de Verão, saio daqui tratando-vos a todos como amigos.

Com a alta permissão do Presidente do nosso partido, e do magnífico Reitor, convido-vos a todos a brindar ao sucesso e à saúde do Dr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Um bem-haja. Viva a Universidade de Verão, viva a JSD, viva a Europa e viva Portugal.

Assistência : Viva!

[Brinde e Aplausos]

Senhor Presidente do Partido Social Democrata, Dr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, senhor Presidente da JSD, senhores deputados Duarte Marques, Margarida Balseiro Lopes, Joana Barata Lopes, Cristóvão Crespo, Dr. Nuno Matias, senhor Prof. Dr. Braga de Macedo, senhor Presidente do Congresso Nacional da JSD, senhores conselheiros, minha senhoras, meus senhores;

Thank you so much for coming to the last conference dinner of our Summer University 2016. I want to start thanking Mr. Pedro Passos Coelho for his decision to invite Dr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis to be with us this evening. It’s a huge privilege and I want to thank him because he came directly from Greece to be with us and he will leave from Lisbon tomorrow morning.

Our guest has as a hobby reading, sports, basketball, football, skiing and tennis; the preferred food is stuffed grape-leaves; the preferred animal is dolphin; he suggests us the book "Thinking Fast and Slow”, I think from a Nobel Prize of Economy. Amazingly He was a psychologist and he won the Economic Nobel Prize. Our guest suggests the movie "Interestelar”, and the quality he enjoys more is honesty and perseverance.

Dr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, during these fourteen years, in this room and in the room downstairs we have had the honor to welcome Prime Ministers, Ministers, former Presidents of Republics, academics, and a lots of very interesting people. But amazingly, in all these fourteen years, only three times we had a moment like this one. The first one was with Mr. Pedro Passos Coelho. One year before he became Prime Minister for Portugal, he was here. We can say we received here the next Prime Minister of Portugal.

Sin another time, some months before becoming the Prime Minister of Spain, Mariano Rajoy was also our guest.

And now it’s your turn. And now it’s your time.

[Applauses]

We truly believe we are welcoming not only the president of New Democracy, but we are receiving the incoming Prime Minister of Greece.

[Applauses]

And what I would like to ask you it’s a very simple question: what do you think are the similarities and the differences between the Portuguese experience and the Greek experience?

Ladies and gentleman, to answer my question and to answer your questions, the next Prime Minister of Greece, Dr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

[ Applauses ]

Carlos, thank you very much for this very kind and warm introduction. When you had the kindest to invite me here you did not tell me the story about Pedro and about Mariano coming here. That would be an additional incentive for me to come, but your presence here was sufficient for me to come and have the opportunity to speak to you and to answer your questions.

I am particularly honored to be in the presence of your leader, ex Prime Minister and future Prime Minister, Mr. Passos Coelho. He has been a great friend of Greece, we are becoming close personal friends, he is a man I respect a lot. He´s a man we all need to thank for his leadership because he spoke the truth at a time when others were fearful to do so and he took difficult decisions at a time when others were unable to do so.

And indeed I must tell you that it is difficult to be a leader these days. There is a general sense of discontent with politics, everywhere. You see it maybe in your country, you see it in Europe, you see it in the United States. And being able to show commitment, strength of character, perseverance, but in particular to speak to the people the truth and not to engage in easy populism. These are qualities which are in great demand these days. They are in demand in Portugal; they are in demand in Greece; they are in demand in Europe and I think they are in demand everywhere in the world.

Now, Carlos asks me an interesting question and that’s what I want to talk you about a little bit, are the similarities and differences between the Greek and Portuguese experiences. And what we can really learn from each other in order for all of us become better and to help our respective societies.

There a lot of similarities between Greece and Portugal. First of all we are countries of a similar size, both approximately with ten million inhabitants, we are Mediterranean countries, we made the transition from a dictatorship to a democracy exactly in the same year (in 1974), we joined the European Union in the eighties, we joined the monetary union in the early two thousands, we both won a Euro Championship…

[Applauses]

I know the first victory was slightly painful for you, but I must say, as a Greek fan, I was so happy that Portugal won the Euro Championship in 2016, because I think history hold something to your team. And we also have a particular affinity for Portuguese coaches, who we seem to hire systematically in Greece.

If you look however at the experience of the recent crises, there is one substantial difference. Portugal spent three years in a program, and under the leadership of Pedro managed to exit the program two years ago. And that was a great achievement, because I can tell you, it is not easy to implement a program and manage to distance yourself from the constraints of a memorandum.

Unlike what happened in Portugal, unfortunately, in Greece after six and an half years, we are still in a program, we are currently in the third program, which was signed approximately one year ago and we are expecting to leave the program into 2018.

Now, if you turn the clock back a couple of years, you will find interesting similarities between the previous Greek government and the previous Portuguese government. Both center-right governments; our government came in power in 2012; your government came in power in 2011.

Inherited the difficult fiscal situation, had to take difficult measures and implement tough reforms. That is what we did in Greece, when I was a Minister of the previous government. Personally I was responsible for the Ministry of Administrative Reform. In other words, I was responsible for the Greek public administration. And as you know public administration reforms are sometimes the most difficult reforms to implement, because of the big resistance and a lot of structural changes. Resistance blocks the changes that are necessary to happen, and is difficult to convince administrations which used to work in a certain way, to change their ways, to become more accustomed with concepts of performance assessment, to become more accountable toward citizens, in other words, to serve the citizens rather to serve themselves.

So I was responsible with this difficult task, but overall our government achieved very important things. We managed to produce a primary surplus for two consecutive years, and we managed, which is probably our biggest achievement, to return Greece to growth in 2014. So we were well on track to also exit the program in 2015.

And what happened in January 2015? Syriza came to power. Syriza forced an early election by using the presidential election to dissolve parliament. The Greek constitution allows this to happen under certain circumstances. And from the beginning of 2015 the country is moving in the wrong direction. Why is it moving in the wrong direction? You probably are more or less aware of the basic facts of what happened in Greece since early 2015. The government and Mr. Tsipras and his very flamboyant Finance Minister (who you may or not remember, Mr. Varoufakis, who showed up in this nice colorful shirts) spent six months negotiating and playing a strange game of chicken with the European Union until, basically, the money run out, until the second program laterally expired on June 30^th 2015. And in the foreknowledge at this would happen, the elected program expire, next thing to happen, the banks closed for three weeks, capital controls were imposed, and under the immense pressure of the reality that the government itself had created, Mr. Tsipras made a very spectacular U-turn, and actually accepted basically the terms of the European Union, signed a third program, eighty six billion euros, which was actually passed by parliament with the votes also of Nea Dimokratia.

And I want to stress that. Syriza split during this critical vote. And if it were not for Nea Dimokratia, for my party, that I have the privilege of leading since January 2015, Greece could have already left the Eurozone. So we took a very difficult but responsible decision, to keep Greece in the Euro and signed-up to the program, because otherwise the results would have been catastrophic. I am making this point because, as we’ll discuss further, sometimes it is difficult to take these tough decisions and we had a lot of people from our own party complaining to us and asking why you are doing this, why are you supporting the government? And we told them we are not supporting the government, we are keeping the county alive and tied to the European Union.

But even since then, the program has been signed and not much, unfortunately, has happened. The reforms which are included in the program are implemented at a very slow pace, there is very little privatization taking place, the economy is still in a recession, and it will remain in a recession in 2016. The real economy is not recovering, Mr. Tsipras has increased taxes and cut pensions, so the person who has actually complaint against the austerity is actually implementing a very tough austerity. Maybe those are some interesting similarities with Portugal when you think about that.

But Mr. Tsipras has basically faced the reality which forced him to completely abandon his populist promises. And I want to talk to you a little bit about the importance of this.

You know it is very easy in politics, especially if you are a party that has never governed before, to present yourself to the electorate and promise people exactly what they want to hear. And this was exactly what Mr. Tsipras did. Right before the election he proposed an electoral package that was worth twelve billion euros, in handouts, tax cuts and all the rest.

And of course, then reality hit him straight into the face. And he had to make a big U-turn at the same time, however, damaging the credibility of the entire political system, and destroying whatever trust and confidence was left in the relationship between politicians and the electorate.

And trust and confidence are two concepts which are absolute critical if we want to bring our respective economies on a sustainable recovery path. And the first thing you do when you want to build trust is to tell people the truth and you take a bet that people will be ready to listen to the truth rather preferring the convenient lies which you will have to abandon when you face to the reality of governing.

And frankly this I consider also my responsibility as a new leader of New Democracy to do. I was elected leader of Nea Dimokratia in January of the current year through an open popular vote. So I have been in my position for eight months now.

I have tried hard to change and renew the party. Nea Dimokratia is a traditional center-right party, very similar to your party. It’s the party that actually took Greece into Europe, it’s the party that reestablished the democracy in Greece in 1974. So we have a lot of reasons to be very proud about our party, but at the same time all the traditional parties need to renew themselves in ideas, in people, present fresh faces, give young people the opportunity to compete in the political landscape, and I consider this to be my first responsability.

I think we have made good progresses so far; we are currently leading in the pools and we were between 8 and 10 percentage-points. We lost the election less than a year ago by 7 percentage-points, so this has been a big reverse of political fortune in Greece and I think we are in a position to win the next election, whenever this election is going to take place, and we will win it by presenting to the Greek people an alternative path to the economic program that Syriza is experimentally implementing.

What Syriza is doing is very leftish in its mentality: increasing taxes while at the same time maintaining the status quo within the public administration, increasing wages of civil servants, at a time when it is difficult to do so, hiring further civil servants at a time when we should probably not be doing that.

So we are very open and we say that growth will only come from private investment, we need to attract private investment by gradually reducing taxes, but you want to reduce taxes and at the same time comply with your obligations towards Europe and towards your citizens you also need to address the issue of public spending and try to identify fat and identify spending cuts that are actually meaningful.

And this is exactly what we intend to do, present the Greek people with an honest program of real aggressive reforms that we can implement to put Greece back to a sustainable growth path. And I think that Greece, like Portugal, is a country that is indult with lots of natural advantages. I was driving through the beautiful landscape coming to this lovely little town. And I must say it reminded me a lot, as we discussed with our friend here, of my home island, Crete. Similar scenery, olive trees, kind people, smiling people, and a country that real can benefit and leverage this comparative development advantages. Beach tourism, a sustainable agriculture, a sustainable energy, these are some of the common growth trends which we share, Greece and Portugal.

So what we will be doing is we will continue to make the case that there is another path to the path this government is following. That undoing reforms is not the right approach to policy; and there is another similarity between Greece and Portugal. From what I have read the current government is undoing a lot of the very good reforms that were implemented by the previous government. Not all of them have to do with the economy; I was discussing with Pedro the fact that a lot of interesting reforms that were put place in education are being undone by this government.

It’s exactly the same, exactly the same is happening in Greece today. This government because it still wants to cater to his leftist audience, for example is abolishing exams for the best public schools which cater only to the best students, it’s undoing a lot of the reforms in the universities that were implemented by the previous government, where we managed to attract highly qualified professors from abroad to help us and to serve in boards of advisers for Greek universities.

And it’s frankly a painful story to watch. We know we work very hard to implement a reform. You put a lot of effort in doing it. Undoing a reform is easy, but actually doing a reform is difficult. And sometimes the trick is not just to pass a law in parliament; that is maybe an easy path. But to go through the neat and great detail of actually implementing the reform on the ground, with the public administration that may not always be so cooperative, having limited tools at your disposal – that is a real difficult task. And when you see that these reforms are undone I think it is a reason for concern. So I think – just to assure on top of to have the opportunity to also answer to your questions – Greece and Portugal have a lot of similarities but also some important differences.

We are still in the third program, and we should not forget that the magnitude of the economic crisis in Greece was much more severe than the crisis in Portugal. Portugal probably lost 6% of his GDP, cumulatively, over the past five years; we lost 26% of our GDP. 26% of our GDP is a quarter of our economy. We have more than a million people unemployed and youth unemployment is exceeding 50%. And when I talk to young people in Greece, on your age, the first concern that they have is will I ever find a job in Greece? Will I ever be able to get a pension in Greece? And the first reaction of those who are qualified enough is to leave Greece and to find an employment elsewhere. And this is a catastrophe. This brain drain is limiting our capacity to use our human talent. And the first thing that we need to do is to provide to such young people with a prospective of staying in their country with the prospective of a productive and a meaningful career.

Let me just conclude by saying a few things about the European dimension of what is happening. Mr. Tsipras in a week from now will invite to assemble leaders of Southern countries, including your Prime Minister, for a discussion of how the South can better coordinate its reaction to what is perceived as in insistence on austerity policies by the North.

Obviously there is always room to cooperate and, as we discussed, there’s many similarities between Southern counties that need to be leveraged, but I firmly believe that the solution to our domestic, but also to the European problems, can only come from our own political family, from the center-right, from the European People’s Party. The left is not in a position to provide a convincing alternative, both in the domestic front and in the European front.

And I think we will both work hard within the European People’s Party to address the big challenges that Europe is facing, especially after the Brexit vote, and to make sure that Europe as a concept remains as relevant to your generation as it is for our generation and certainly it was to our fathers and grandfathers generation who built Europe as a continent of peace and prosperity in very, very difficult times. Do expect that within the context of the European People’s Party we will have a lot of challenges to face, both surrounding the architecture of Europe. How you balance a fiscal discipline with growth initiatives. It is a discussion that we need to have in Europe.

It is clear that regardless where you come from, from the center-right or from the center-left, there is a point beyond which austerity does not work, where austerity is actually killing growth and is putting you in a loop out of which you cannot escape. But the solution obviously is not to go back to the old spending habits, tax spending habits, which the left, I’m afraid, is still advocating.

So these are the sort of challenges that we would be facing. If I can conclude by just saying what the Chinese say, we do live in very interesting times.

But what will happen in Greece and what will be happening politically in Portugal is going to be very relevant to the rest of Europe. And it is going to be relevant to the rest of Europe because I believe that in Greece and in Portugal we will be able to fight populism through reason and sound policies, seriousness and commitment to the work we have to do.

So at a time when populism is in rise everywhere, in Southern Europe, in Northern Europe, in the US, it is absolutely important that center-right parties come-up with an alternative political proposition that is able to mobilize people and convince them that populism and nationalism – because these concepts go quite frequently hand in hand – are not the solution to our problems. And populism is not just the populism of the extreme right. It can be the populism of the left, as we’ve seen in Greece, and as you also see here. That is a source of characteristic of populism that is not necessarily tight to one specific ideology. So we have, I think both of us, Nea Dimokratia and your party, an obligation to fight populism, not by became populist ourselves.

By resisting the temptation of saying the easy and nice things, by trusting people that if you tell them the truth but you also give them hope, but the hope based in truth, not in fake promises, we will be able to deliver a peace, prosperity and a better future for our people.

Thank you very much for your attention. And I am looking forward to your questions.

[Applause]

Muito bem, primeiro leque de questões.

First round. We are going to listening to the questions from the Orange Group and the Brown Group. I want to thank the Brown Group this evening because we are in their table.

And from the Orange Group I will give the floor to Vítor Nascimento, and from the Brown Group to Marcelo Morgado.

Boa noite. Antes de começar gostaria de só dar uma nota de agradecimento ao staff por serem super incansáveis a servirem-nos o almoço e o jantar e o pequeno-almoço. Estão todos de parabéns. Muito obrigado.

[Applause]

Good evening, or in Greek "kalispera”. I would like to great our very special guest, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and also our guest Pedro Passos Coelho.

Having spent one year doing Erasmus in Greece, more precisely in Patras, I have a great affinity with Greece and the Greek people. The year was 2010/2011 and it was the first peak of your financial crisis.

During that period, several Portuguese people were saying that we, Portuguese, would not need a bailout and that Portugal is not Greece. I found out, unfortunately, that Greece was actually Portugal but on steroids.

I saw several problems, some of them very quite similar to Portugal. First was the high number of public servants. If I’m not mistaken, around the time 10%, which is one million. In my opinion, it was crazy.

The rise of communism and other leftish parties specially among the young people. I have never seen as much communist propaganda as in the halls of University of Patra, perhaps because I was not in the University of Athens, I don’t know.

Unions working for the communist parties and not the workers. The differences between the Chinese part of Piraeus Port and the Greek part is overwhelming. The never ending supplies of Greece on how to evade taxes, some of us remind the story about the large percentage of blind people that live in Zakynthos but that could actually have a perfect sight, or covering their pools to avoid satellite pictures so that the State could not tax them on their property. There is also your tremendous debt and as well the fine line between politic connections mixed with friendship and also the political dynasties.

As you are aware, there are many more, but I would really like to know how do you plan exactly on fighting these problems, and as well what your vision regarding the future of the European project.

Thank you very much for your time, to come here to Portugal to this very lovely little town . And I wish you and our Greek brothers and sisters all the best in the brighter future.

Adelfiki agalia ke sas efharisto poli (um abraço fraternal e muito obrigado)

[Applause]

Representante do Grupo Castanho

Boa noite a todos. Em nome do senhor Reitor da Universidade de Verão, com um agradecimento especial aos nossos convidados. Muito obrigado por estarem aqui.

Em representação do meu grupo, do Grupo Castanho e em representação de todos nós, gostaríamos de fazer uma introdução, talvez um cumprimento no seu idioma, para que se sinta ainda mais em casa, como já fez o meu colega. Vamos ser se consigo ter a pronuncia mais ou menos correta.

Kalispera kirie Kiriakos Mitsotakis, kalosorisma, milao liga ellinika, parakalo. (Boa noite Kyriakos Mitsotakis, seja bem vindo ! Eu falo um pouquinho de grego)

[Applause]

Após este cumprimento tão nobre do meu colega, calha-me fazer uma pergunta mais aprumada.

Sou um pouco arrojado e gostaria que comentasse um acontecimento que ocorreu há pouco tempo. O senhor Presidente russo, o Czar da atualidade Putin, visitou a Grécia e proferiu a seguinte afirmação: a Grécia pode afetar as relações com a União Europeia.

Considera que a Grécia pode ser o Cavalo de Tróia perante a União Europeia?

Muito obrigado.

You guys are tougher than Greek journalists.

[Applause]

First of all I’m really happy that we have a friend who spends a year in Patras using the Erasmus project. I think Erasmus is one of the highlights of the European project, and I really applaud you and applaud all of those who have benefited from its existence, the opportunity to visit other countries, and the very interesting conclusion you actually did. It’s interesting your analogy that Greece is Portugal on steroids.

Having said that, there´s a common thread when it comes to certain practices, wether it’s tax evasion or clientelism. The way we understand our relationship with politicians. There are some common themes. Some of these problems were indeed exaggerated in Greece, and I will touch upon two issues which you raise. The first is clientelism.

Clientelism, being defined in a very simple way – I vote for you because I expect a favor from you. And the favor uses to be I will get you a job in the public sector. It was very simple; a very simple arrangement which workes very well for both parties involved. The only problem is that we no longer can make these type of arrangements because our public sector cannot afford to hire more people, and certainly cannot afford to hire more people based in these type of criteria. Every public sector will continue to hire a few people but it needs to hire them based on meritocracy.

And one of big changes that I tried to implement at the administration reform was exactly to ensure full meritocracy in hiring to a position within the Greek administration.

We have reduced the size of the administration significantly since the time you were in Greece. And it is now probably more or less on par with most European administrations. But it was a difficult project. For every five people we retired we only hired one civil servant. And we probably need to continue doing so for the foreseeable future, and we also attempted to significantly reduce the number of temporary appointments, which is another problem for the Greek administration. Maybe it’s similar to Portugal, I don’t know, but using the word "Trojan horse” temporary appointments working as Trojan horses to actually enter the public administration and then find the way to obtain permanent status. So I think we need a public administration that breaks with the old traditions of clientelism, and I basically operate certain some basically and sound principles, and we need to measure people for what they do. It’s absolutely critical.

The most difficult reform I tried to implement at the Ministry was to put in place a new performance assessment system. When I went to the Ministry and I looked to the performance assessment scores I realized everyone was getting a perfect ten, which defies the purpose of having a performance assessment.

But these are the types of reforms that we need to do. A lot of them also have a cultural aspect in them and they do take time. And they do take a lot of effort.

Tax evasion is another big problem. One of the reasons people evade taxes – is not an excuse but it is the reality – has to do with actual marginal tax rates. When you push them way too high, people have an additional incentive to tax evasion. And this is basically what is happening in Greece today.

We need much better complaints mechanisms, we need to make much better use of electronic transactions. Eventually we are going to move away from cash into the realm of electronic transactions at a great speed. The moment you use electronic transactions it is much easier to trace all transactions electronically and, at least as for us the VAT’s concern, you can address the problem of tax evasion at that front. But at some point tax evasion is also deeply rooted in a sense of mistrust between citizens and the State.

If there’s no sense of reciprocity between the State and the citizens – I pay my taxes but I get decent services, I get decent schools, I get decent hospitals – the all arrangement is gone breakdown. So we also need to do our part to make sure that people get some value for money for the taxes they pay. They get security, they get decent hospitals, they get decent schools, they get decent universities. It’s also another part of the equation.

You asked a very specific question. I had an opportunity to meet President Putin when he came to Greece. Greece is not going to be the Trojan horse for anyone. As much as we have strong cultural ties to Russia, which we need to preserve. And there is a strong affinity primarily based on religion between Greece and Russia. Greece is a member of the European Union and is a member of the NATO, and to that extend it will comply with our European obligations and whatever decisions are taken at the level of Atlantic Alliance.

[Applause]

Second round of questions. From the Red Group, João Pedreda; from the Pink Group, Carmo Messias.

Good evening to everyone. First of all I would like to greet our two guests, both next prime ministers, I hope.

My question is: with the emergence of far right movements such as the Golden Dawn, and far left movements as Syriza, respectively both, what can the center parties do to actually try to regain the leadership of the country and, in this case, and in this political landscape particularly, how exactly do you see PASOK, do you see more as an ally or is still as an enemy as they once were?

Thank you.

Antes de mais, em nome da Equipa Rosa, boa noite a todos os presentes, em especial ao nosso convidado, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, e também ao nosso Presidente do Partido, Pedro Passos Coelho.

Tal como deve ser do conhecimento de todos, a Grécia é considerada a casa mãe da Democracia. O local onde se iniciou uma ascensão da importância da política e o culto da mesma. Seguindo esta ideia, considera que a herança cultural, política e filosófica deixada, poderá conter a resposta para o dilema grego? No seu entender, irá a Grécia, após a governação do partido Syriza, ter a oportunidade de voltar a recuperar o seu brilho de outrora?

Muito obrigada.

First of all, regarding the very knowledgeable question about Greek party politics, Golden Dawn is a problem.

We have seen a raise of extreme right movements across Europe; Greece is not an exception to that trend. Golden Dawn is a neo-Nazi party; it is not just a party of the extreme right. It is a very extreme party operating outside of the boundaries of the democratic political establishment.

It is currently pooling at around 7%. It is concerning but it seems to have reached a natural plateau. I dare to say that things could have been worst, in the sense that Greece is a country that had suffered from a profound economic crisis, and on the top of that, you also have a big migration crisis. And this is fuel for all extreme right parties.

Economic discontent, immigration, creates the ingredients for the rise of extreme right political activity. So I think, for the moment, as much as Golden Dawn is a concern to our democratic tradition, it seems to be contained within this electoral percentage. It doesn´t play any real role in parliament; it is completely alienated from of the rest of political forces.

Now PASOK. In 2009 PASOK won the elections with 43%. Today they are at 5%. We have witnessed probably the most abrupt and intense destruction of a mainstream party that at least I know in Europe. And PASOK was blame squarely for the first program and their suffered the political consequences.

Having said that we are much close politically to PASOK than we were maybe ten years ago. I need to remind that we have actually perform a coalition government with PASOK between 2012 and 2014. The government of Antónis Samarás was a government which also included PASOK. So PASOK is a party we can potentially talk to. We have our differences, but it only don’t fall outside the realm of the people we have open discussions, in despite our differences and quite frequently even today in parliament we find ourselves opposing Syriza from the same basically political angle.

Now about the question regarding our paste glory. Greece is a country that invented democracy; that is true. And has a fantastic and extremely rich cultural and political heritage. For me is not so much a question of being able to return to the glorious past, but to make sure that we establish a pass to a more promising future. We have a very strong tie to our past, but we don’t want to be trapped in our past. We share our culture and we are extremely proud about the wonderful things and ideas that ancient Greek civilization produced. And sometimes it is relevant for all of us to go and read some of the old texts of Plato, Aristoteles, they always help our thinking and I encourage you to do that. You’ll always find extremely meaningful ideas and every time you read them you discover new things. But we have to look towards the future and that is my personal responsibility.

[Applause]

Third round of questions. From the Green Group, Rafael Augusto; from the Grey Group, Eduardo Reynaud.

Boa noite a todos aqui presentes. Um cumprimento especial ao nosso Presidente Pedro Passos Coelho e ao nosso convidado especial, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

A minha pergunta é a seguinte: o que pode fazer o centro-direita para fazer reverter a situação na Europa do crescente aumento do fenómeno da extrema-direita?

Obrigado.

Boa noite a todos, em especial ao nosso convidado, Kyriakos Mitsotakis; ao nosso Presidente do PSD, Dr. Pedro Passos Coelho; e ao Diretor da Universidade de Verão, Dep. Carlos Coelho.

Desde já agradecer o sacrifício pessoal e o esforço que é ter vindo diretamente da Grécia para cá, mas indo diretamente às perguntas, tenho duas muito pequenas.

É o seguinte: sendo a Grécia a mãe da democracia, e durante tantos anos e tantos séculos ter sido o berço da cultura, o berço da matemática, tanto que inspirou o mundo, qual é o seu sentimento relativamente a ver o seu país, infelizmente, durante algum tempo de joelhos perante a Europa?

Segunda questão é a seguinte: sendo que as probabilidades, felizmente, estão cada vez maiores de o Dr. subir ao poder finalmente e conseguir implementar um regime mais moderado, será esse um farol de esperança para Portugal que também, lentamente, está a ver os populismos, neste caso de extrema-esquerda, a subirem?

Muito obrigado.

If you are a center-right party, you have at the same time to address people who considered themselves right wing and people who are more moderate and define themselves as centrists. That’s why we call our parties center-right parties.

Sometimes the big challenge is how do you do both. But it is something that I think our parties have experience in doing. So I happen to believe that all elections are won or lost in the political center. So it is important to cater to voters who are not very passionate about politics, may not be that ideological, and while at the same time maintaining the core of your support. And I think that through a proper combination of policies you can address both constituencies and be able to expand your electoral appeal.

Our parties, both Nea Dimokratia and your party, having results in the high thirties, close to 40% - we know how to do this. It’s nothing which we have not made before, but it is also important to point out that, at least in Greece, Nea Dimokratia was the only party that truly survived the crisis. We had two main parties; PASOK disintegrated, and was replaces by Syriza, and we continued; as we will, we will only become stronger as the current government will do a poor job in managing the economy. It’s natural, I think it is inevitable; it will happen here, it has already happened in Greece.

The traditional parties are under a lot of pressure. Looks what’s happening in Spain, newcomers changing a basically stable two parties system. So we have to be aware that these pressures are there and we need to also be very aware of changing demographic trends. We need to be able to talk with young people, as well convincing the older the supporters. We need to understand that we need to use new technologies, social media, as well we use traditional media. So we also need to grow, and learn and to adapt to the political landscape.

To the second question, Greeks feel to a certain extent, humiliated by what has happened to our country. And is painful sometimes to talk to people, we are a country, I think as all people, we have a lot of pride, and I think that Greeks have also shown a lot of perseverance during the crisis. Loosing again 25% of GDP is unimaginable; thank god it is even unimaginable for you.

There was obviously social reaction, ended-up bringing Syriza into power, but the social fabric are held. And I think one of the reasons why it held is because in the South we have more traditional family ties, family supporting, people who are unemployed and, to a certain extent, we managed to hold together for that reason.

But I think it is important for us, and I think it is important for every country that is going through a crisis to discover a new sense of patriotism and a new pride in who we are, and basically to believe in ourselves and our capabilities. A lot of what we do, what we talk about has to do with confidence. Economic is much more driven by confidence. When people feel that there is a change coming they will start to invest more, they will start hiring more. If there is no confidence, the economy is not going to react. I think that, certainly in Greece, we need a political change for confidence to return. It would not return with Syriza, we don’t know when we will have an election; it could be soon, it could be latter… But only a political event can reverse the current trend and restore the confidence which is necessary for people to feel again proud who they are and what they can do with their lives.

[Applause]

Fourth round of questions. From the Beige Group, Mariana Roque da Cunha; from the Purple Group, João Dinis.

Boa noite. Quero agradecer aos membros da Mesa por nos fazerem companhia e por nos proporcionarem este evento que é super-agradável, mas em especial aos nossos dois convidados de honra. Gostava também de agradecer a toda a organização da Universidade de Verão, porque isto está tudo organizado ao pormenor. Muito obrigada por termos sido nós os cem selecionados.

E gostava de perguntar, em relação aos refugiados: a Grécia afirma que não quer transformar-se no campo de refugiados da Europa. A seu ver o acordo da União Europeia com a Turquia é a melhor forma de lidar com as pessoas que fogem da guerra?

Eukaristo!

Boa noite a todos. Antes de mais gostaria de agradecer em nome do Grupo Roxo a todos os presentes aqui esta noite. Aos meus colegas, a toda a organização por detrás desta maravilhosa semana, nomeadamente ao nosso caro Reitor, o Deputado Carlos Coelho. Também ao Doutor Mitsotakis, por ter feito a sua viagem desde a Grécia até ao nosso país, e ao líder do nosso partido, Dr. Passos Coelho.

Mr. Mitsotakis, you are here to discuss with the leader of our party possible ways and measures to deal with the austerity and the economic and political crisis in Europe and mainly here in Portugal and in Greece.

This is a great display of the effort that two parties from two different countries, but sharing the same values, can put on the fight for a more unified and stronger Europe.

So our question is: which conclusions, have you reached so far, and if you feel even a little more optimistic about the future.

Thank you.

I am glad we got one question on refugees because it is a very important topic of particular concern to Greece.

In 2014, close to a million people crossed the Aegean Sea putting their lives at risk to find a better future in Europe. Most of them came through Greece and entered to Europe through the western Balkan corridors until Europe took a decision that they could no longer keep the borders open and since February the Western Balkan corridor has been closed, meaning that the people who enter Greece have no way out and stay in Greece.

We currently have 65.000 people trapped in Greece who have no desire to stay in Greece, but also have no alternative of going elsewhere.

I am afraid to say - and we discussed this with Pedro before – that the European response to the refugee crisis has been inadequate. And I am carefully using this word because I don’t want to use a stronger word. It is very clear that if you want to address this crisis at a European level their needs to be more burden-shared.

It cannot just be because of geography that Greece is bearing a disproportionate cost, because of the fact that it just happens to be where it is geographically. We have agreed at the European level various times for various few locations that means other countries taking refugees but very little has happened.

To your answer, yes, the deal with Turkey is the best solution in an imperfect world. It seems to be working so far, we have a significantly reduced flows of migrants across the Aegean, but it is a short term solution. Unfortunately the long term migration transit are here to stay. We have poor countries with young populations growing very fast with no hope whatsoever of a reasonable future, and these people are willing to put their lives at risk to come to Europe.

Obviously Europe needs to manage their borders better. If we are a common union, we need to have a common force at managers of external borders. And one of the few good things that came out of the crisis was a decision to create a European border patrol force in order to monitor our borders better. But at end of the day. we need to think long term creatively how can we help and directly assistance to those countries which are actually sending the refugees. How can we end the war in Syria? Because at the end of the day, most of the refugees that came over the past years, were from Syria. An unimaginable humanitarian catastrophe is taking place and unfortunately the international community as a whole seems unable to react and raise its game in order to find a solution, and of course I have to believe that all the big players need to be involved, so this is a case where we need to talk to Russia also about solving the Syria problem.

It can not to be solved only by the West. And of course the fundamental issues of development, inequality, what does long term sustainably growth mean for the poor countries, are issues which are massively complex, there is no obvious and easy answer, and these issues will constantly preoccupy us.

I can tell I have accepted many questions because I forgot what the last question was about, I didn’t noted it down. So if you can just quickly remind me what it was about. I’ll test your memory as well now. Can you quickly…

João Dinis

What were the conclusions…

Kyriakos Mitsotakis

Oh yes, that’s the one I wanted to answer. The conclusion is simple. I think we both will be prime ministers at the same time at some point.

I forgot the most important….

[Applause]

And now we are going to the last turn of questions. As a courtesy tradition in the Summer University I will give the floor for the last time to our guest that will have the last word. As I have no other chance to use the micro, and I apologise myself because I have to give a warning regarding tomorrow morning works.

Tenho um último apelo para vos fazer. Sei que esta noite é sempre complicada, é a última noite. Sei que estão todos cansados, mas amanhã de manhã precisamos mesmo da vossa opinião na sessão de avaliação às dez da manhã.

O último apelo que vos faço é que às dez da manhã estejamos todos lá em baixo, na sala de aula, para fazermos a avaliação final desta universidade, para fecharmos as coisas, para limparem os quartos, e para podermos ir para a sessão de encerramento que vai ter lugar num teatro mesmo aqui ao lado, a horas. Essa sessão de encerramento começará às doze horas, mas uma vez que temos cá o presidente do PSD há sempre um efeito de atração junto de personalidades locais e de pessoas do partido.

É sempre com muito gosto que os vemos associarem-se quer à sessão de encerramento, quer ao almoço que depois terá lugar neste espaço, mas as primeiras filas do auditório são para vocês, porque a sessão de encerramento é da Universidade de Verão de 2016. Temos pessoas da organização a assegurar isso, mas se vocês chegarem cinco ou dez minutinhos antes, ajudam-nos a assegurar que os lugares que estão reservados para vocês, são mesmo para vocês, e não para outras pessoas.

E dito isto, reiterando o apelo para estarem às dez, e foi por isso que o Simão e eu vos enviámos um convite formal para a sessão de avaliação das dez da manhã, passamos às últimas perguntas.

And Dr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, thank you so much. It’s the last time I have the chance to thank you again for coming to our Summer University, for answering our questions and for answering the last two questions. They will be the questions from the Blue Group, Catarina Marquês; and from the Yellow Group, João Madeira.

Boa noite. Antes de mais, quero agradecer a presença do Dr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, por estar aqui em Castelo de Vide hoje connosco, e do Presidente do nosso partido, Dr. Pedro Passos Coelho.

Há pouco, o Dr. Kyriakos falou-nos de algumas comparações relativamente aos problemas, de certa forma, similares, entre Portugal e a Grécia. Gostávamos de saber, então, que relação poderiam ter, tanto Portugal como a Grécia, tendo em conta as suas semelhanças sociais e económicas, de forma a aumentar a preponderância da Europa do Sul no quadro europeu.

Obrigada.

Good evening. I’d like to greet Dr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Dr. Pedro Passos Coelho, and also all the people who came here today on purpose, whose presence much honor us.

Dr. Kyriakos, seeing your curriculum, we see you spent nearly a decade in the private sector. What motivated you to leave this probably much more prosperous career and to join politics, until becoming the leader of opposition and certainly the next prime minister of Greece?

Thank you.

[Applause]

First of all, the question from the blue table. I think what we are doing today is very important. I hope you found the discussion interesting, but I also found it very interesting, and it is also very productive I think, for not only us to talk but also for our parties to cooperate, and to literally compare notes, what works, what doesn’t work. Because our countries have obviously differences, but also certain similarities. Comparing the details of policies is very, very important, and I think we both can learn from each other to become better and more efficient.

And obviously there is a case to be made for a closer cooperation of the European South because there are common issues, especially regarding the balance between austerity and growth which, I think, to a certain extent, we’ve got it wrong possibility at insistency of Germany.

It is always good to end with a personal question. Sometimes I think about the question that you ask, although I have no regrets about my decision to leave the private sector.

I come from a political family, but when I probably had your age I decided I would not be active in politics. So I had a big reaction against politics and I said I would get my degrees and I’ll do a career in the private sector and I’ll just live a normal life. I said that because it’s sometimes difficult to understand all the sort of pressure and attention that politicians are exposed to.

I took the decision in 2004 because at some point I reached a stage where I found myself constantly discussing politics at dinner tables and I told myself that if you really care a lot about what is happening maybe you should try and make a difference for yourself. This is what I have done, again I don’t regret the decision, I think I am in a good position to make a difference, but it is important in politics – if I can leave you with an advice, and I am sure you all care about politics if I can also judge by your interest and by the quality of your questions – is: always get your motifs right, always get your motifs right, when you care about politics.

[Applause]

Because you would make sacrifices, there’s always an opportunity cost, politics is a difficult job, the capable people who enter politics certainly could do other things in their lives, but we decide to do this because we care about improving the people’s lives.

And in the end of the day, despite all the difficulties and the tension, you look back to what you have achieved and if you have left something that is meaningful change you will be satisfied in spite of all the criticism which sometimes is very intense.

So do look at politics, always look at politics as a possible choice, because if you don’t become active in politics, somebody else will become active in your behalf. And it’s always better to make sure that you have a say in the decisions that will be made, and I think it’s also extremely important that your generation is sort of against this, so pessimist and reaction that all the politicians are the same, nobody can make a difference. No, is not the case. Not all politicians are the same, not all politicians are the same.

[Applause]

You see that also here in Portugal, and we go through ups and downs, but I think sometimes the good work is rewarded and I am convinced the good work that your party leader, your president did, will be rewarded and he will have a second chance to lead this great country.

So again thank you very much for your attention.

[Applause]

Eu peço desculpa mas houve aqui um problema com o programa, eu pedia desculpa ao senhor Reitor, há um erro no programa da Universidade de Verão, e temos de fazer uma alteração com a permissão do senhor Presidente do partido, que nesta casa tem mais poder do que o Reitor da Universidade de Verão. Afinal, o Carlos Coelho, o nosso Reitor, não faz tudo perfeito, e há gralhas no programa e esquecemo-nos de pôr uma parte do programa. E pedimos autorização ao Presidente do partido que, apesar de o Carlos Coelho ser magnânimo e o magnífico Reitor, ainda há quem mande mais, e o senhor Presidente autorizou.

Portanto, gostávamos de dedicar aqui algumas pequenas dádivas que vieram de perto, outras de longe, e uma das dádivas que a Universidade de Verão tem é o Paulo Colaço, e ele vai começar por introduzir esta peça.

É costume dizer que a Universidade de Verão é organizada por três instituições: o PSD, a JSD e o Instituto Francisco Sá Carneiro. Mas na verdade, há mais uma instituição organizadora; uma enorme instituição chamada Carlos Coelho.

Aos 54 anos, idade que o seu espírito jovem não aparenta… e o meu peso também não aparentava isto… [risos e aplausos]. Aos 54 anos de idade, dizia, idade que o seu espírito jovem não aparenta, o Diretor da UV reúne facetas únicas, que fazem dele um organizador perfeito, um mentor nato, um exemplo de entrega ao seu compromisso.

Há muitos anos, alguém disse que o Carlos Coelho põe muito amor naquilo que faz. Mas nem só de amor se constrói o percurso deste homem. A sua atuação, tanto na vida quanto nas missões políticas que abraça, é feita de rigor e de ética. Rigor nos horários, nas ideias, na ação política, e ética nas palavras, nos gestos, no respeito pelo outro.

Senhor de um assombroso poder de ubiquidade, o Carlos Coelho concilia o trabalho no Parlamento Europeu com a presença assídua junto daqueles que representa. São mais os quilómetros que percorre entre concelhias, escolas e eventos de formação, em todo o país, do que aqueles que separam Lisboa de Bruxelas.

Não há no PSD quem não respeite o seu percurso. Em Bruxelas todos conhecem a sua integridade, e na Assembleia da República a sua capacidade de trabalho deixou saudades.

O Carlos já formou incontáveis gerações. A UV é mais um exemplo do vasto serviço que presta ao PSD, à JSD, a Portugal e à Europa. Este evento é feito à sua imagem - valores, disciplina, qualidade e perfeição. Temos consciência que ninguém é perfeito. Mas para nós, a sua equipa, o Carlos Coelho representa a perfeição. Por isso, esta é a nossa verdade, vamos ouvir a verdade dita na boca de outras pessoas que também o conhecem.

(visionamento de filme, várias vozes e participantes)

Amigo.

Empenhado.

Genuíno.

Dez, zero, zero.

Dedicado.

Altruísta.

Seriedade.

Esperançoso.

Pontual.

Incrível.

Profissional.

Visionário.

Congregador.

Credível.

Caráter.

Competente.

Dedicado.

Excecional.

Atitude.

Um líder nato.

Incansável.

Sol.

Insuperável.

Atenção aos pequenos pormenores.

Silvério Regalado

Passados dez anos, tenho a certeza absoluta que essa semana que passei em Castelo de Vide influenciou muito o meu percurso político. Por isso, quero dar uma palavra de incentivo ao PSD, à JSD e, claro, ao Carlos Coelho para que esta iniciativa tenha muitas e muitas mais edições. Acho que só uma estrutura como a JSD e só alguém como o Carlos Coelho seriam capazes de ser empreendedores o suficiente para tomarem esta iniciativa e a tornarem uma das principais iniciativas da rentrée do verão nestes últimos anos. Por isso, uma palavra de bem-haja a todos e espero que haja muitas e boas edições da Universidade de Verão.

Teresa Azoia

O Carlos Coelho é a personificação do dicionário de cidadania. Não… Take 2.

Carlos Coelho é fixe.

Muito bem, eu acho que a palavra que melhor…

Carlos Coelho é o melhor do mundo.

E pronto, é isto, um grande beijinho para o Carlos Coelho e para todos, e efetivamente a palavra que diria é cidadania.

Rui André

Um grande abraço ao meu amigo Carlos Coelho, grande mentor deste projeto, a quem felicito, pois a Universidade de Verão do PSD é, sem dúvida, uma escola de quadros do partido onde tive o prazer de participar, e cuja influência hoje é bastante importante naquelas funções que desempenho. Por isso, um abraço grande ao Carlos Coelho.

Susana Correia dos Santos

Carlos Coelho é inteligência, é método, é rigor, é detalhe, é exigência. Carlos Coelho é também um excelente bom humor. É um companheiro, é um amigo, é aquela pessoa que nos diz o caminho e que nos dá os melhores conselhos - podem não ser os mais fáceis - mas os melhores conselhos nos momentos certos. Carlos Coelho é uma inspiração, é um exemplo, é alguém que marca de forma definitiva a minha vida e a minha forma de ver o mundo.

Mando-vos um abraço gigante, cheio de saudades, especialmente a si, Carlos, e muito obrigada por tudo o que fez por nós. Duarte, não fiques com ciúmes, que eu também gosto muito de ti.

Obrigado, Carlos.

[Aplausos]

Alguns destes que apareceram vocês não conhecem, são ex-alunos, são membros do staff, uns estão nos Estados Unidos, outros estão cá em Portugal, alguns são atuais Presidentes de Câmara, e que foram alunos da Universidade de Verão, outros são deputados hoje em dia, e agradecem sempre parte do seu percurso à Universidade de Verão.

Mas como isto foi feito de improviso, e as personagens que vão aparecer a seguir, são das pessoas mais importantes também desta Universidade de Verão, fizeram questão de participar, e à grandeza da admiração e até o respeito que têm pelo Carlos, em poucas horas foi fácil reunir estes testemunhos que vão ver a seguir. Outros encontramos aqui na rua, outros numa base aérea, e todos quiseram participar e não podemos recusar ninguém. Algumas caras são conhecidas, outras menos conhecidas, outras muito conhecidas. Só vos peço que façam mesmo pouco barulho porque há uma muito especial, que se houve muito mal, mas é a que tem mais graça.

Som Gravado

José Manuel Durão Barroso

Foi em 2003, lembro-me bem porque na altura eu liderava o PSD, que lançámos esta bela iniciativa, a Universidade de Verão da JSD. E deve-se ao entusiasmo, à determinação, ao espírito de organização do Carlos Coelho, que esta iniciativa seja hoje uma tradição absolutamente indispensável. É bom reunir jovens para discutirem o nosso país, para discutirem a Europa, sempre naquele espírito de abertura que tem caraterizado o PSD, e para também olharem para o mundo em geral.

Eu quero felicitar, muito sinceramente, o Carlos Coelho. Dizer-lhe que, se houvesse um grau de Doutor Honoris Causa da Universidade da JSD, devia ser ele o primeiro doutorado.

E a todos aqueles que fazem um êxito esta nossa iniciativa, um abraço e os meus votos de muito sucesso.

Luís Marques Mendes

Há pessoas que nasceram para serem competentes. É o caso do Carlos Coelho. Tudo o que faz, faz bem feito. É assim no Parlamento Europeu, é assim a organizar a Universidade de Verão do PSD. Muitos jovens que por aqui passam todos os anos ficam a descobrir o prazer pela política, o gosto do conhecimento, a oportunidade da formação, o facto de ficarem mais livres porque ficam mais habilitados e mais bem preparados.

E isso, devem a quem? Manifestamente ao Carlos Coelho. Por isso, nesta ocasião, Carlos, muitos parabéns.

Manuela Ferreira Leite

A Universidade de Verão do PSD deveria chamar-se Universidade Carlos Coelho, apesar de, para mim, ele nunca deixar de ser o Carlinhos.

Pedro Passos Coelho

Quer como amigo, quer como presidente do PSD, quero enviar-te daqui um enorme abraço, sabendo que, ao longo de todos estes anos, deste um contributo único para a formação dentro do PSD e da JSD. És responsável por muitos talentos que ao longo dos anos se projetaram na vida interna da JSD e do PSD. Deste sempre um sinal de organização, de trabalho, de densidade, de substância no trabalho que é realizado, e isso permite-nos ser mais ambiciosos, estarmos melhor preparados para responder a qualquer eventualidade política, e para imprimir, àqueles que estão connosco, confiança, alguma segurança, no sentido em que aquilo que fazemos tem por trás uma ação política cuidada, refletida, que evidentemente tem também os nossos valores e princípios, mas sobretudo um trabalho meticuloso e bem preparado.

Acho que, nesse aspeto, portanto, todos te devemos muito, eu inclusive, e aqui fica um abraço amigo, ao mesmo tempo, mas também, do ponto de vista institucional, de um forte reconhecimento por aquilo que tens feito ao longo de toda a tua vida política, mas sobretudo ao longo de todo este trabalho que tens desempenhado como o nosso Reitor da Universidade de Verão.

Um grande abraço, Carlos, e parabéns, que são mais do que merecidos.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa

E como sabem, eu sou um Presidente heterodoxo. Não tenho a certeza de que os meus antecessores mandassem uma mensagem como estou a mandar. Mas eu queria daqui enviar um abraço muito grande ao Reitor perpétuo da vossa Universidade, que é um bom amigo, vosso e meu, Carlos Coelho, que além do mais adora comover-se com estas mensagens.

E um abraço a agradecer-lhe pelo que ele tem feito, de dedicação na sua vida, entre outras coisas, a todos vocês, em sucessivas gerações.

Muitos parabéns, Carlos Coelho. Um grande abraço aqui da Base Aérea de Monte Real.

[Aplausos]

Duarte Marques

Esperem lá que ainda não acabou, há aqui mais um detalhe.

Há aqui mais uma surpresa, que o nosso Presidente do partido, ele melhor do que ninguém, vai fazer.

É muito rápido, mas apenas para dizer que acho que o Durão Barroso teve uma excelente ideia. Portanto, quando neste pequeno grupo que organizou esta ação de reconhecimento pelo trabalho do Carlos Coelho, detetou a ideia, pô-la em prática. E perguntaram ao Presidente do PSD se podia outorgar esta qualidade de Doutor Honoris Causa por esta Universidade.

E assim, uma vez na minha vida, eu substituo-me ao Reitor da Universidade de Verão, justamente, para lhe outorgar o título de Doutor Honoris Causa pela Universidade de Verão da JSD em 2016.

Carlos Coelho, és um orgulho para o nosso partido e, tenho a certeza, também para a JSD.

[Aplausos]

I want to say to our guest, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, I am very sorry; we are spending your time with this manifestation of friendship from a lot of friends.

I have to say, frankly, I think all these homages are a little bit unfair. Because it’s not about my work or my commitment, it’s a very good team which is organizing this event for the last fourteen years. There are twenty people working not only during the summer time, but during all the year to aim to organize the best Summer University. And very often I get the feeling I am being praised not for my work, but for the work of all these twenty people. And it’s fair to say I could not do anything without their help, their friendship, their solidarity.

And mainly, I told them already that, two or three days ago, this Summer University could not be a success without the commitment of their students. These fourteen years, we saw more than one thousand and four hundred young people spending one full week, from Monday to Sunday, from ten o’clock in the morning until, two, three, four at night, working in groups, at classes, at dinner conferences, and so on.

If we could not realize that kind of commitment and involvement, this initiative could not be a success, the success it is now. So, thank you so much for the friendship of dear friends who are praising me, but in fact we have to thank the team which is organizing this event and this exceptional superb group of students who make from this initiative a great success every year.

Thank you so much to everyone.

[Applause]