Chega informed the president of the republic this Monday that it will submit a motion of censure to the government at the beginning of the next legislature, André Ventura told journalists, referring to the fact that this decision had already been made.
“Regardless of the decision that the President of the Republic decides to take or will take in the near future, Chega has decided that at the beginning of the next legislative session it will disapprove of the government in Parliament,” said Chega’s president, on Palacio de Belém, in Lisbon.
“It is a decision that was already ours and that we have, of course, reported to the President of the Republic, because we understand that this government is no longer governing,” he added.
André Ventura was speaking at the end of a roughly half-hour meeting between a delegation from Chega and the head of state, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, as part of a round of hearings for parties with a parliamentary seat that began on Friday.
Chega’s president insisted that “over the past year no structural problem has been solved by the government of António Costa” and accused the government of devoting itself to “handling cases day after day, on the surface, only to protect itself and its protect ministers”. .
In April, André Ventura challenged PSD president Luís Montenegro to submit a motion of censure to the government and promised that if this did not happen, Chega would take this initiative in the first days of September , early 2019. the next legislature.
In the statement he made to journalists, Chega’s president made it a point to mention that he discussed “the political and party context” with the president of the republic, adding: “When it comes to questions of party nature and party analysis, you will understand that I do not share these reflections”.
Still regarding the government’s action, said André Ventura, “the President of the Republic had drawn up some priority files and also set some goals: the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), the issue of teachers, the issue of the SNS (National Health Service)”.
According to Chega’s deputy and president, “none of this has been resolved and the implementation of the PRR continues at a very low level.”
On the other hand, André Ventura attributed to the government an attitude of “contempt for parliamentary democracy, contempt for scrutiny”, due to the conclusions of the parliamentary commission of inquiry into the political custody of TAP management.
On this occasion, the president of Chega took the opportunity for the media to return to the topic of searches at the residence of Rui Rio, former president of the PSD, and at the national headquarters of this party, about which he spoke today already spoken in a press conference, in which he accused the PS of wanting to abuse this case to demand justice.
While he said that Chega does not bring “concrete matters” to the public in Belém, André Ventura reported that he had passed on “this concern” to the president of the republic.
“It is important that the President of the Republic has his utmost attention in this situation,” he defended, claiming that “the President is also concerned about this matter.”
Chega’s General Secretary, Rui Paulo Sousa, accompanied André Ventura to this audience at the Palácio de Belém.
Chega introduced a motion of censure to the government at the start of the first legislature, which was defeated in July last year with votes against by PS, PCP, BE, PAN and Livre and abstentions by PSD and Liberal Initiative.
In January of this year, still in this first legislature, another motion of censure against the government, tabled by the Liberal Initiative, was defeated with votes against by the PS, PCP and Livre and abstentions by PSD, Bloco de Esquerda and PAN .
The Rules of Procedure of the Assembly of the Republic stipulate that if a motion of censure is not passed, the signatories cannot introduce a new one during the same legislature.
The second legislature of the current legislature starts on 15 September.
Source: DN
