“Not everything that makes a difference is visible.” The slogan of the first public recruitment campaign of the Information System of the Portuguese Republic (SIRP), which we reported in this edition, clearly defines what is at stake: reinforcing one of the most discreet functions of the State at a time when threats are more diffuse, more technological, more unpredictable.
For the first time, billboards will be seen on the street, posters at universities and advertisements on social media to attract candidates. An unprecedented gesture, which gives visibility to the desire demonstrated by the new secretary general of SIRP, Vítor Sereno, to bring the Services closer to civil society, following the path of European partners and which takes place in the year in which SIS marks 40 years of preventing internal threats and SIED 30 of external intelligence. It is a symbolic opening and a necessity.
The country saw aging staff and losing ground in technical skills in a fast-paced world where espionage is no longer done only with diplomacy and analysis, but with algorithms, digital linguistics, cybersecurity, data science.
O SIRP Supervisory Board has warned: there is “urgency” in recruiting, difficulties in retaining highly qualified talent, particularly in the areas of IT and cybersecurity, and a structural challenge that compromises operational effectiveness – afhigh access to metadata, which puts us behind European partners in early threat detection.
The CFSIRP calls for the constitutional review process to be resumed to fill this gap. “Such a measure would bring Portugal into line with European security standards, without giving up essential democratic safeguards”, he writes in his latest annual report. Portugal remains the only European country that prohibits intelligence services from eavesdropping.
The opening signal given by the strategy of Vítor Sereno, a career ambassador, could be a decisive step so that, as happens in large international agencies, we also begin to declassify certain dossiers and tell the stories of operations that distinguished our spies, the most secret heroes.
Otherwise, the collective memory tends to be left with the most negative memories, most of the time, unfairly.
In a time of hybrid wars, disinformation campaigns, cybercrime and violent extremism, democratizing recruitment for sensitive roles is wisdom. But slogans are not enough. The country needs means, technology, adjusted legislation, sufficient transparency to generate trust; security as a condition of freedom, and democratic oversight as a guarantee of that security.
But there are other concerns that cannot be ignored. At the same time that the State asks citizens to serve the country with intelligence, there are public figures, one of whom is the leader of the second most voted party in the last legislative elections and candidate for the Presidency of the Republic, who abandoned debates in television studios, exalted, threatening to make a degrading spectacle banal.
In another time, these types of scenes would be exceptional, a sign of argumentative weakness or failure of moderation. Today, there is a risk that it will become a format. All it takes is a provocation, a raised tone, an unfortunate aside – and there goes the microphone on the table, the chair moving back and the debate being abandoned.
It is not important here to discuss who provoked who, or who is right. It matters what we are losing. When politics and the media descend to that level, the public notices and moves away. First the program, then the politics. And finally, from the public conversation itself – where democracy lives.
This is not about demanding artificial politeness or unanimity. The debate can and should be vigorous. But freedom of expression does not exclude the responsibility to listen. An interview is not a ring; a television panel is not a bar at the end of the night.
What does one subject have to do with the other? Strengthening information services is strengthening the State’s ability to protect democracy. But preserving democracy requires more than operational intelligence: it requires civic intelligence. It requires strong institutions and conversations that are strong in content, not tone. It requires a healthy public space. The quality of democracy is the guiding thread.
If serving Portugal is a silent mission for some, it must also be a civilized and dignified mission for everyone. “Not everything that makes a difference needs to be loud. Sometimes, you just need to be smart” – perhaps this is the phrase that still needs to be put on a billboard.