Eleven days before the debate (which takes place on the 20th), there is still no guaranteed approval for the Azores plan and budget for 2024. And after the announcement of the negative vote by a Chega deputy (elected as an independent), the prospects continue to point more like an edge. In other words, the regional government led by José Manuel Bolieiro could be in danger if it fails to make its budget viable.
But, a member of the PSD Regional Political Commission guarantees, if the executive has not approved the budget, the resignation will not even take place – and Bolieiro will therefore rule in twelfths. “If this happens, the responsibility for leadership will lie with the parties that fail to meet the budget and the government will continue with its functions and duties,” Pedro Gomes assured a week ago. Last Tuesday evening, It was José Manuel Bolieiro himself who criticized the oppositionShe accused her of seeking “destabilization” because she was “jealous of the success” of the government she led – the first for the PSD in the Azores since 1996, the year the government was transferred to the PS.
Speaking on the initiative of social democratic workers from the Azores, in Ponta Delgada, José Manuel Bolieiro believed that we are “living a decisive political moment in the autonomous democracy of the Azores, in the last year of this government’s term. [as eleições acontecem em outubro do próximo ano]”.
According to the governor, the opposition is not focused “on assessing the effectiveness of the government and the results of public policies, but rather on the electoral law, which can give electoral volume and representation to the coalition that is in government and ultimately create difficulties create for the government. other parties”. “We will stand on the side of the responsibility of good governance. We will stand on the side of the stability benchmark. We will stand on the side of humility by submitting ourselves to the judgment of the people on the right date for the elections. This is how a mature democracy works”, asserted José Manuel Bolieiro, concluding: “It is for this exercise that I am available as a citizen to make my contribution to the autonomous and democratic policy in the governance of the Azores.”
What led to this outcome?
Since 1996, the Azores have been governed by the PS. First by Carlos César (current president of the party) and then by Vasco Cordeiro. But the autonomous region’s governance ‘turned’ in 2020, during the last Regional elections – which the Socialists even won, but failed to form a government.
The right (PSD+CDS+Chega+IL+PPM) together had more deputies and José Manuel Bolieiro made efforts and reached agreements to govern. After twenty years, socialist rule in the region came to an end. But the government’s solution was not without criticism, especially due to the inclusion of Chega in the agreement. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa himself was not satisfied. He said then, after a meeting with mayors from the Central Zone: ‘Not even the representative [da República] either the president had to like it or not like it. Now you know my old position on anti-systemic parties.”
However, in an interview with DN in July last year, José Manuel Bolieiro defended the solution found for the region. “It was very surgical” because it “encompassed Enough and Liberal Initiative, without renouncing beliefs, principles and values”.
But – and this is the reason for this uncertainty – the deputies of the Liberal Initiative and Chega left the agreement. This leaves PSD, CDS and PPM with 26 deputies in the regional parliament, compared to 31 for the opposition.
The situation has some parallel (albeit with some differences) at the national level, when Bloco de Esquerda and PCP made the PS budget for 2022 unviable, leading to the President of the Republic dissolving the Assembly and calling early elections.
Possible scenarios
As with central government, the future is uncertain. Looking straight away, there are two simpler scenarios: the plan and budget are approved and Bolieiro governs normally; Otherwise, the budget will fail and the government will essentially resort to twelfths. You can also submit a new proposal until February 21.
If this proposal is rejected, the representative of the Republic listens to the parties, the President (who has the final say on the matter) convenes the State Council, dissolves the Regional Assembly and schedules elections within a maximum of 55 days. In other words, a process that is exactly the same as what is currently taking place at national level, following the resignation of António Costa. If there are elections in the Azores, the inauguration will, predictably, take place in August 2024. The Plan and Budget will therefore ultimately be approved in early 2025.
Source: DN
