The President of the Republic today entered the parliament's Session Room wearing a carnation on his lapel, in the commemorations of the 50th anniversary of the Revolution, which this time were attended by Cavaco Silva and Durão Barroso, without the symbolic flower.

Wearing a carnation on his lapel, General Ramalho Eanes was present, as usual, as were the former presidents of the Assembly of the Republic Ferro Rodrigues, Assunção Esteves and Mota Amaral.

Former prime minister Francisco Pinto Balsemão was also in the presidential tribune, from which former head of government António Costa and former president of the Assembly of the Republic Augusto Santos Silva were absent.

As he has done since taking office in 2016, the President of the Republic reviewed the troops in front of parliament, still without a carnation, climbed the stairs already carrying the flower-symbol of the Revolution, which he usually then places on the bench.

This time, he entered the room with a carnation on his lapel, as did the president of the Assembly of the Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, and unlike the prime minister, Luís Montenegro, who entered parliament without a carnation and, in the hemicycle, carried this flower in his hand.

In the Government, too, the options were divided between a carnation on the lapel - in the case of ministers Paulo Rangel, Pedro Duarte, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, José Manuel Fernandes, Manuel Castro Almeida -- in one hand, such as António Leitão Amaro, Miguel Pinto Luz or Margarida Blasco, or without a carnation, such as the leader of the CDS-PP, Nuno Melo.

With a carnation in his hand, the mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, made a point of greeting the secretary-general of the PS, Pedro Nuno Santos, before the beginning of the session.

Among the benches, the carnation was a mandatory presence on the left, while in the PSD parliamentary group the options were divided. In Chega, no deputy wore a carnation, while the IL bench opted, all of them, for white carnations, an alternative already brought in 2021 by the then leader of the CDS-PP, Francisco Rodrigues dos Santos.

The vice-president of the PS bench, Pedro Delgado Alves, distributed to all the seats of the socialist deputies the lyrics of "Grândola Vila Morena", suggesting that the left will repeat the tradition of singing, at the end of the solemn session, one of the songs that served as a soundtrack to the Revolution in 1974.

The speakers' tribune, the president's and "vice" presidents' table are, as usual, decorated with carnations, and each of the places reserved for deputies, members of the government and guests also has a flower symbol of the Revolution waiting for them.

In the hemicycle, the first to arrive was Leonor Beleza, former minister and current State Councillor, who, with a carnation on her lapel and another in her bag, took her place in the chairs arranged in front of the tribune reserved for members of the government. Shortly afterwards, the Attorney General of the Republic, Lucília Gago, arrived without a carnation.

The solemn session of the 50th anniversary of April 25th started today later than usual: at 11:33 am, since, on this round date of the Revolution commemorations, a military ceremony was held at 9:30 am, in Terreiro do Paço.

In front of the Assembly of the Republic, since 10:00 am, the Guard of Honour, consisting of a Battalion representing the three branches of the Armed Forces, awaited the arrival of high-ranking officials, many of them coming from the military ceremony.

The prime minister, Luís Montenegro, arrived five minutes later than the protocol predicted, at 11:05 am, hand in hand with his wife, and the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, about 15 minutes later.

This is Montenegro's first solemn session of April 25th as head of government, and another debut is that of José Pedro Aguiar-Branco as president of the Assembly of the Republic, who will also participate in the parade on Avenida da Liberdade today.

After the session is closed, the band of the National Republican Guard, formed in the Passos Perdidos, will perform the national anthem and Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Luís Montenegro, accompanied by Aguiar-Branco, will visit the exhibition "A Nós a Liberdade", organised with the Arpad Szenes-Vieira da Silva Foundation, in the Salão Nobre.

Leia Também: 25 de Abril AO MINUTO: Arranca a sessão solene; Seguem-se os discursos (Versão portuguesa)