The Presidency was itself not an enviable or prestigious position; although the elected person, for a time, occupied a large home in Horta Seca, they were required to furnish the home at their own cost, pay rent and had no transport budget, nor personal secretary (Arriaga would ask his own son to help him in this role). Later, the first President lived in the Palace of Belém, but not in the main building, but rather an annex off of the Pátio das Damas. This occurred in a period when personal divisions between different factions had splintered the Republican cause; António José de Almeida would form the Evolutionist Party, Brito Camacho the Republican Union, while Afonso Costa would continue to front the main Republican Party (renamed the Democratic Party). Manuel de Arriaga, for his part, would select the politician and journalist João Chagas to head his first government. In his personal autobiography, Arriaga recounted how he hoped that he would not be another factor to divide Republicans, especially in a time where there existed a need to work together; it was a difficult period historically, due to the exasperation of the "religious question", constant social agitation and political party instability (associated with "Machiavellian strategies" of some politicians) that fermented during the infancy of the First Republic. Frequently, Arriaga was unable to contain these tensions and often had to deal with counter-revolutionary revolts, such as the Royalist attack on Chaves led by Captain Paiva Couceiro. During his mandate, several governments fell; there were eight changes in the Prime Minister's office, disorder in the streets, violent reactions against the church, as well as counter-revolutionary monarchist movements. Finally, he invited Dr. António José de Almeida to lead the government, but he refused, and opted for the Republican Afonso Costa, who would govern off-and-on until 1917. Hated, but feared, he governed and even sought to restore some order and economy to the public accounts. Although Afonso Costa was able to reduce the deficit, the instability and conflict between Parties persisted, made more critical by internal politics and growing international tensions in 1914 (that would eventually begin World War I).