The President of the Regional Government stated in Horta that, regarding the Regional Autonomy, there is neither exclusive responsibility nor added moral legitimacy that begins and ends in the Azorean People.
 
"If it is true that the critical mass of this Autonomy that we have the ambition to further enhance and improve stems from the diversity of perspectives and proposals, this fact has the clear and unequivocal meaning of always demanding a continuous search for new approaches and new solutions, whether they come from institutional entities, parties or from social partners," stressed Vasco Cordeiro.
 
Speaking at the solemn session of the Day of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, chaired by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the President of the Government stressed the need to answer a very simple question: "How can we have an autonomy that is better equipped and Equipped to provide for the sustainable economic and social development of each and every one of our islands, to promote the welfare of the Azoreans, or - a function of prime importance that cannot be forgotten and underlined -, how can we have an Autonomy Ever better equipped to assume itself as an instrument of constant improvement in the exercise of our Democracy. "
 
"It is therefore in the interest of continuing and advancing in the search and construction that Autonomy can be asserted," said Vasco Cordeiro. In this context, he reiterated the cases of the relation between elected politicians and voters, through one of the proposals to be studied that could be the introduction of open lists and the preferential voting system in the regional legislative elections, the improvement of the institutional structure of Autonomy and, in particular, the extinction of the office of Representative of the Republic.
 
"Recalling a 19th-century Autonomist, Dinis Moreira da Mota, it could be said that, four decades after the constitutional consecration of Autonomy, it was an 'emancipation of unnecessary tutelage,'" said the President of the Government.
 
At the solemn session, which included the bestowal of Azorean Honorary Commendations upon 30 personalities and institutions, the President of the Government considered that, in this process of autonomy reform, it is essential to be "aware of two risks presented to us as in most democracies of today."
 
"On the one hand, we cannot enter into these processes by accepting or contributing to the prejudice against politics and those who, with a democratic mandate, take on the task of representing, guiding and managing the community in which they live," defended the President of the Government.
 
After stressing that one should not ignore the permanent need of politics to question, innovate, develop and improve its action, Vasco Cordeiro stressed that, in this matter, the answer is not to have less politics, but to have, in the true sense of the word, more politics that should be more refined, more responsive and increasingly more transparent. In fact, it should less subject or dependent on extraneous factors that might be adverse to the relation that should be established between representatives and voters.
 
"This is the challenge and I would even say this is the current challenge, to which no one can turn their back or lower their arms. Otherwise, it would lead to the emergence of the so-called saviours who may cause irreparable damage to our Democracy and, consequently, our Autonomy," said the President of the Government.
 
In his speech to the Legislative Assembly, Vasco Cordeiro considered that it is also important to bear in mind that, however legitimate the sectoral interests and their various forms of representation are, they are still sectoral and the merit of their intervention cannot automatically derive from the mere fact that they are external to politics or, in other words, external to parties.
 
"The force that may arise from the nature or even the number of proposers outside politics cannot prevail over the merits of the proposals put forward, especially when they are characterised by ideas of exclusion rather than participation or restriction rather of expansion, or even by sensitivity and corporate concerns," said the government official.
 
According to Vasco Cordeiro, regional self-government bodies, with their democratic legitimacy and mechanisms for political supervision, and the fundamental cornerstones of democracy, which are political parties, should ensure that, however meritorious their goals may be, "we do not subject the collective, democratic and plural representation to the representation of sectoral interests which, while not being undemocratic in their own right, may become so if they become prevalent."
 
In his speech, the President of the Government also considered that the presence of the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who is visiting the Azores since June 1, added a layer of significant political and institutional symbolism to this moment.
 
"There will be few or no doubts as to whether your presence in this session, Mr. President of the Republic, will also represent a strong commitment to the Autonomy, to the Azores and to the Azorean people," said the President of the Government.