As Portugal prepares for its 2026 presidential election, one candidate is campaigning on a platform of national revitalization through ambitious technological and economic advancement[[1]]. The candidate’s recent address to the press featured a striking vision for the country, invoking Portugal’s historical spirit of exploration while outlining plans to leverage existing national assets-including one of the world’s largest gold reserves-in emerging fields like space engineering and artificial intelligence[[3]]. His unconventional rhetoric and appeals to creativity are already distinguishing him in a developing political landscape [[2]].
A presidential candidate in Portugal is calling for a bold new direction for the nation, urging it to recapture a spirit of innovation and ambition. He believes Portugal has untapped potential, particularly in areas like space engineering, agricultural technology, and artificial intelligence.
“Portugal needs to take a leap forward and maintain the speed” to return to being the country that “already led the world in conquering international markets and led piracy and the sea,” the candidate stated.
He added, “Portugal is not utilizing several things that are within its reach. Portugal is one of the countries with one of the largest gold reserves in the world (…) which it can also put at its service in what is space engineering, agricultural engineering, artificial intelligence. We have been suffering from an inert Sebastianism for too long. And at this moment we have to take the leap forward and continue what we were doing.”
Following remarks to the press, the candidate delivered a speech outlining his qualifications. He noted his mother taught him that “a President must have at least 27 personalities to understand the entire country,” and his father instilled in him the idea that “Portugal is not an identity, but a flow, sometimes turbulent, sometimes calm.”
The candidate’s address took a particularly impassioned turn as he declared, “Portugal does not need administration. Portugal needs creation. We are a people who have crossed centuries because they always believed in what does not exist. Today, I ask you to believe in a president who also shouldn’t exist, but does exist. (…) Only I, in the second round, can end this foolish adventure for the future 100,000 years from now. Long live absurd, luminous, and absolutely necessary Portugal!”
The candidate’s unconventional rhetoric and vision for the future are already generating buzz within Portuguese political circles. His emphasis on creativity and belief in the impossible resonates with a cultural history steeped in exploration and artistic expression.
