PROFILE OF CAVACO SILVA'S CLOSE COLLABORATORS PROVIDED
Lisbon TEMPO in Portuguese 12 Feb 87 p 15
[Article by Joao Rosa]
rExcerotsl The
disclosure in our last issue that a secret meeting was held recentlybetween
Eurico de Melo and Adriano Moreiraalong with our revelations and analysis for
the strategic prospects for PSD in the medium term, was the dominant topic in
the media and in talks among politicians beginning last Thursday morning
Whith a view to early elections, the PSD foresees the need
for a policy of understands with the centrists that will provide it with a
parliamentary majority in the future approach by Cavaco Silva has not been
fully accepted within the party. But several informants in the partytell us
that the top leaders with whom he has informally surrounded himself are
probably capable enought to get it accepted throughout the Social Democratic
struture withou encountering any major obstacles.
In fact we also disclosed last week that an oversimplified
but basically realistic analysis of the philosophy of internal policy being
pursued as part of Cavaco SUva's leadership of the PSD and the government
reveals that functioning with him as an advisory council of "notables» is
a small elite group an "advance
guard" in which he has special personal confidence. It is the leader's
genuine private "committee," and behind the scenes in the party and
government it as already been nicknamed the “group of Five”
or the” Magnificent Five." Its members
meet with the chiefevery Wednesday to analyze the political situation jointly
and thoughtfully.
According to reliable informants, its members are Eurico de
Melo , Fernando Nogueira, Santana Lopes, Durão Barroso and Dias Loureiro ( the
order in which they are listed is not intended to indicate any hierachy beyond
the obviously well known fact that Eurico de Melo has more maturity) but except
for the northern patriarch (who is only 61) and it should be remembered that
Cavaco silva himself its only 47 the most revealing feature of all the others
is the fact they are extremely young for the job: two of them are only 30
(Santana Lopes and Durao Barroso), one is 35 (Dias Loureiro), and the last is
36 (Fernando Nogueira). But all of them have enviable academic and political
credentials and possess intellectual and temperamental qualities that are
certainly suited to their high responsibilities, judging from the special
confidence placed in them by Cavaco Silva.
The only one who is not and has never been a member of the
government is Dias Loureiro, the party's powerful secretary general.
Incidentally, it was immediately after the PSD's latest congress—where we saw
the appointment of so many deputy chairmen (six)—that we wrote concerning him
that he was in fact—as events have shown that he is continuing to be—the real
number two man in the Social Democratic hierarchy at the party level.
As far as special academic and biographic background is
concerned, attention should be drawn to Eurico de Melo's career in business,
Fernando Nogueira's special inclination for regional matters, Santana Lopes'
militant support for Sa Carneiro's doctrine, Durao Barroso's political science
studies abroad, and Dias Loureiro's practice of law.
As far as other special features are concerned, specifically
as regards the image each has conveyed to us in the course of our personal
contacts with them and statements made about them by the people who claim to
know them best, we can sum them up as follows:
Eurico de Melo: Shrewd, determined, cautious, ambitious,
much given to reflection although not a cerebral type, and very courteous and
refined. A manorial baron well equipped for city life.
Fernando Nogueira: Introverted, excellent at planning, a
conciliator, astute, hardworking and ambitious, good at detail, and organized.
A man of sturdy stock from Beira who has grafted well into Lisbon life.
Santana Lopes: Headstrong, enthusiastic, bold and
determined, dauntless, and one of those most capable of diving right in. An
idealist full of faith in whatever he believes in, beginning with himself.
Durao Barroso: A born cerebral type, speculative, observant
and provident, studious, and a cultivator of self-control and the structuralist
spirit. A pragmatist being forcibly converted to the idea of improvisation.
Dias Loureiro: A Latin and a native of Beira with all the
generosity, vitality, instinctiveness, and skill at his job that one expects
from such a person, he has a talent for leadership and organization. A fighter
on behalf of all necessary and sufficient causes.
It is probably superfluous to say that all of those
"Magnificent Five" are frequently the targets of envy and speculation
On the part of some of their fellow party members who are most jealous of their
special status, just as it is no doubt natural that some of them should not
always succeed in remaining rigorously indifferent to those negative stimuli.
And which of those five—especially the four youngest—is the
one who may become the heir apparent and receive official approval as such in
the future?
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