The prime minister defended this Wednesday that anyone who has “told lies” about what is happening in the Council of State is “doing the country a disservice” and refused to confirm that he was silent at that body’s meeting.
“Who in the last meetings [do Conselho de Estado] has decided to escape selectively, or has told lies about what is happening in the Council of State, it is doing the institutions, democracy and the Council of State a disservice. The Council of State is a consultative body for the President of the Republic, where people should feel free to express themselves or not, so that the President of the Republic can benefit from that information. Compromising this character of confidentiality is a bad contribution. And they won’t count on me for that bad contribution.” said António costa, in Guimarães, Braga district.
When asked by journalists whether it was a lie or not that he was silent on Tuesday at the last meeting of the Council of State, as some media reported, the prime minister refused to respond.
“I will say neither yes nor no, for the following reason: we must respect the institutions. I try to respect them, I try to be very scrupulous in complying with institutional rules, and if you don’t, I think they are doing the country a disservice,” defended António Costa, after the inauguration of the Deucalion supercomputer, installed at the Azurém Campus, of the University of Minho, in Guimarães.
The Prime Minister declared that “there is no dispute” with the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and reiterated his commitment.
“No one has ever heard me talk, no one will ever hear me talk about the State Council meetings. I am a very institutional person, I respect the rules of the institutions. And there is a fundamental rule in the functioning of the State Council: that The meetings are reserved and confidential. In fact, the law stipulates that the minutes of yesterday’s meeting will not be published until thirty years after the end of the mandate of the current President of the Republic. [terça-feira] will be known. If you are patient, you will be able to access the minutes on March 10, 2056,” emphasizes Costa.
When asked about the PSD leader’s statements, in which Luís Montenegro accuses the prime minister of ‘pouting’ at the latest meeting of the Council of State, the prime minister appealed to Montenegro to respect the institutions as well.
“Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t tend to sulk. Doctor Luís Montenegro must also respect the institutions and the functioning of the institutions. Moreover, as he said himself two days ago, he is the leader of the opposition. That is why he is the political debate that I have to have is with him, in parliament,” emphasized António Costa.
Source: DN
