Speech delivered by the President of the Government - Communication

Presidência do Governo Regional

Full text of the speech delivered today by the President of the Government, José Manuel Bolieiro, in Horta at the end of the presentation of the Programme of the XIV Regional Government of the Azores:

"The debate on the Programme of the XIV Government of the Azores, presented here at this House, which represents the Azorean people as far as the results of the February 4 elections are concerned, has come to an end.

A Programme of the Government is a strategic and guiding document. It is complex as it is also a statement of doctrine and the result of the validation from the voters to whom it was presented.

In our case, with the clear support of the people and with the responsibility for the decision, decided by the people's vote, who have, thus, chosen their representatives to fulfil their will.

The Programme of the Government that we presented this week will, as I made clear in my presentation, the Agenda for the Decade, which had the majority support of the Azorean people, give shape to the path of dialogue that will be our governance, as also determined by the choice of the people.

As such, it comprises actions that, stemming from the electoral proposals of other parties, complement the document, demonstrating our good understanding of the election results and clearly expressing our willingness to engage in democratic dialogue.

It is a strategic and guiding document. It does not detail or itemise but makes choices already validated by voters, defining holistic priorities and laying down policies that will guide our governance. 

Therefore, saying it is silent reveals an unrestrained desire to speak poorly of what is right, heightening the drama of what has not been said and, without any solid argument, belittling its importance.

But its importance prevails and I am proud of it.

The document that we have presented does not minimise anything relevant.

From experience, we know that what is not relevant is not controversial.

For this reason, its controversy only adds to its relevance.

The February 4 elections were a choice about the future of the Azores, based on an Agenda for the Decade. It proposed a path built on the confidence stemming from our work, particularly in the XIII Government of the Azores, which had aroused in the Azoreans.

The election results were what they were.

They were an incentive to carry on and work even harder.

The Azoreans trusted us because they saw merit in our work and thought it would be good for the Azores if we continued to innovate.

On the contrary, strangely, and completely oblivious to the electoral reality, the Socialist Party is saying that the Programme of the Government, discussed here, neither responds nor corresponds to the problems of the Azores!

Nothing could be more wrong!

For those who have followed the Socialist majorities, one could say, as I am saying now, that the Socialist Party and its long-standing tendency to claim to be the master of the truth is, in fact, a serious problem.

This problem has been solved! Solved by the people.

The people have decided and clearly stated that it is not the task of the Socialist Party to govern and be the master of everything and everyone, but rather to lead the opposition if it knows how.

I would like to reiterate that this Programme of the Government is the legitimate successor to an electoral programme chosen by the people, with their clear support, even if it is mitigated by the electoral system we have. The mission we each received is crystal clear: the coalition will govern and the Socialist Party will be the opposition.

Therefore, it cannot be said that this Programme of the Government has not solved problems or does not have the support of the people.

I was surprised to watch a debate in which the Socialist Parliamentary Group was harshly critical, of both the governance we led in the XIII Government of the Azores and the social, economic and financial results achieved.

The same critical tone was directed at the Programme of the XIV Government, which was dismissed by the Socialist Party and the Left Bloc as silent, deficient and unfit, even before it was presented to the Parliament.

The Socialist Parliamentary Group has armed itself and is blatantly firing all over the place!

It failed to acknowledge the electoral results. It failed to accept the facts and the lesson that should have been learned.

It continues to pursue the strategy of attempting to make a right-wing government unfeasible in the Azores.

But that is not what the people have decided.

That is not what the people want for their future.

The people want responsibility and stability.

I quote Adelino Amaro da Costa as saying "moderation in politics makes use of change to avoid rupture."

 We have done and will continue to do with moderation because breaking up our organised and democratic society would result in anarchy and stagnation.

For this reason, we guarantee - I guarantee - that we will take up our mission, entrusted to us by the vote of the people, to continue shifting the paradigm of governance in the Azores, while maintaining a sense of responsibility, being a benchmark of stability and willing to engage in positive dialogue.

To the Azores, I say: we will do well, the governance that best serves the Azores, Azorean families and companies. We will govern in a way that serves the present and the future, both in the short and the medium-term.

To the parties that will vote for the Programme of the XIV Government of the Azores, and through it, governance, I have already declared and I will declare again our priority for dialogue and practical negotiations to secure the approval of the planning and legislative instruments that are essential for governance and that depend on this plural Parliament.

Those wishing to be part of the solution deserve, as a result of the democratic legitimacy they have received, the opportunity to compromise.

The future is the main reason for strategic governance.

Young people play an indispensable role in society.

The option of solidarity-based governance deals with the present.

The future primarily involves them, and the present is about respect for and solidarity with seniors.

Young people constantly challenge society for change and progress.

They are the ones who drive us into the future.

And for them, we have a message, a duty and a commitment.

Their restlessness, desire for novelty, ability to create and entrepreneurial spirit generate the dynamics of development that we cannot ignore in the Azores.

The XIV Government of the Azores will implement an across-the-board youth policy with a series of actions aimed at empowering an ever-growing number of young Azoreans and maintaining more young people on the various islands of the Azores.

We will take action to reduce the uncertainties affecting the future of young people at different stages of their youth, helping them to develop their skills to fit successfully into the society and economy of the Azores. We will help them to face their professional challenges with determination and establish themselves as active and demanding citizens.

Globalisation, climate change, technological change, demographic and socio-economic trends, populism, discrimination and social exclusion make this challenge complex. Nonetheless, we are here for young people, with young people and for the sake of our collective future!

Young people should take charge of their lives and actively contribute to creating positive change in society.

Their present is more of a future than it is for others.

I know, however, that you value solidarity towards older generations.

For this reason, while being attentive to intergenerational solidarity, we will give them the space they need to unleash their creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. We will trust in their ability to make decisions and involve them, making them part of this path of development we want to pursue.

If we want all young people to leverage the actions of this Government, they have to take their aspirations into account, they must harness their creativity and talent, and respond to their needs.

The Azores cannot risk wasting the talent of young people by excluding them instead of involving them.

It should be noted that the Azores, according to the Census, have lost a large number of assets. Between 2011 and 2021, we lost more than 10,359 people in our demography. It was a tragic decade.

The Government wants to provide young people with support and participation models to harness their participatory potential.

Involving and empowering young people are, thus, two of the most important ways in which the youth policy of the XIV Government of the Azores will endeavour to ensure that an ever-growing number of young Azoreans will identify themselves with the prevailing values of Democracy, Autonomy and the Azorean identity.

We will promote the participation of young people in democratic life in the Azores.

We will support the social and civic involvement of young people by providing them with the resources they need to be a building block of their society.

W will support their personal development and growth to strengthen their autonomy, reinforcing their resilience and providing them with the life skills they need to face a challenging world undergoing continuous and disruptive change.

Good political decisions in this new governance, whatever their area, should consider their impact on young people, namely decisions on education and qualification policies, health and sport, housing and employment, and innovation and sustainability. These are vital for achieving good results in terms of youth policies.

The youth policy to be implemented by the XIV Government is based, as has been said, on the principles of the active participation of young people, their empowerment and the guarantee of equal opportunities, always in coordination with other sectoral policies, which I have just mentioned as examples.

It is easier for young people to instil a mindset of non-discrimination, parity, climate action, equal opportunities, inclusion, the end of violence, and social and environmental sustainability.

We want to address the challenges faced by young people in the Azores and our collective future.

We will create the conditions that will enable young people to develop their potential in all the different parts of our Region, i.e. on every island.

We will ensure equal access to high-quality education for all young people, through easier access to higher education and vocational education.

We will guarantee access to the labour market with opportunities leading to quality jobs for all young people.

We will provide for the payment of two airline tickets a year for young Azoreans who are studying outside their island of residence.

We will create the "More Youth" package, devising a system in which students enrolled in higher education outside the archipelago will only pay the stipulated amount for the round trip, without the need to request subsequent refunds.

We will move forward with measures to help young Azoreans stay in the Azores, including the return of tuition fees and personal income tax for all young people willing to work in the Azores up to the age of 30.

We will create a recruitment pool to make it easier for employers to recruit young people, with the possibility of EU co-funding.

Considering the importance of literacy, we will reward young people who turn 18 with a 100 Euro-birthday cheque for the purchase of books, encouraging the habit of reading books, both printed and digital.

As the XIV Government of the Azores aims to pursue the housing policy of the XIII Government, we will put 2,000 affordable homes on the market in the decade that is now beginning, including the construction of new homes, the refurbishment of homes, the transfer of serviced plots and support to housing cooperatives. In this context, support will be granted to young people to facilitate their access to housing.

When it comes to starting a family, they are also beneficiaries of the successful investment in the network of free daycare as well as the Birth+ project.

As one can see, for the XIV Government of the Azores, youth is synonymous with the medium and long-term future and is across the board. For this reason, the Government's policy will seek to provide wide-ranging responses to the multiple needs of young people, which vary in the different stages of youth.

It is also ambitious.

It is ambitious because it wants to respond to the immense ambition of the Azorean youth!

As this debate has shown, starting with the excellent presentations by each member of the Government, the Programme of the XIV Government of the Azores is part of a vision of a decade for the present and future of the Azores.

It sets out a path that continues the good policies that generate good results. It is a wider path, as it presents new measures that will lead us to the consistency of the good results we have already achieved and to better results in other areas that need them.

The Programme of the XIV Government of the Azores is a strategic and working guideline.

The Government is working in favour of those who need it most.

But also in favour of those who, with ambition, want to develop and grow.

The XIV Government Programme is not a detail or a list of details. It is a strategic reference.

A strategy for the future and with a future.

A strategy to protect those who are most vulnerable and need to be protected.

A strategy that gives hope to young people and all Azoreans.

Because it gives space to their spirit of initiative.

Because it promotes solidarity among the equal and the unequal.

Because it defends sustainability and the environment.

Because it encourages the generation of wealth as the most effective way to eradicate poverty.

Because it values and promotes the Azorean identity that makes us stand out in the world!

I trust in the approval of the Parliament, as it has already been approved by the People, granting full powers to the XIV Government of the Azores.

When the XIV Government of the Azores takes office, I will begin negotiations to make the main instruments for governance viable, first and foremost with those who voted for the Programme of the Government.

Those who voted against it want instability, they put themselves on the side of the problem and not on the side of the solutions, where we are.

This mark is already set in this session of Parliament and with each person's vote.

The Azores deserve it!

The Azoreans have chosen!

The future demands it.

For stability;

For governance;

For progress;

For our development;

For Democracy.

Long live the Azores!"