The President of the Republic denied that he had invited anyone to head the government, including the Governor of the Bank of Portugal, Mário Centeno, and that he had authorized any contact for this purpose.
In a note published on the Internet on Monday morning on the official website of the Presidency of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa “denies that he invited anyone, namely the Governor of the Bank of Portugal, to head the government before hearing the political parties with parliamentary representation and the Council of State and taking the decision to appoint the Assembly of the Republic dissolve”.
“It further denies that he authorized anyone to contact anyone for that purpose, including the Governor of the Bank of Portugal”the head of state added in the same note.
In statements to the newspaper Financial timesOn Sunday, the governor of the Bank of Portugal said he had done so “an invitation from the President and the Prime Minister to reflect and consider the possibility of leading the government” and that was it “Very far from making a decision”.
In turn, the Prime Minister, António Costa, who resigned on Tuesday, took up Thursday the defense of a new government led by Mário Centeno, to avoid early parliamentary elections, and regretted that the President of the Republic had chosen to suspend Parliament to dissolve. .
When asked on Saturday about the conditions under which he asked the Governor of the Bank of Portugal about this possibility, the Prime Minister replied: “I have spoken to the President of the Republic and I have acted with the knowledge of the President of the Republic.”
“When I presented the proposal, I knew that Professor Mário Centeno would only give a definitive answer, obviously after he had spoken to the President of the Republic, after he had been informed of the conditions of administration he had, and then, from the beginning, knew whether the Political Commission PS would also agree with my proposal”he continued.
The Prime Minister added “dialogue with the President of the Republic would obviously be essential” and that, like Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa “I made another option”, through early elections, “these conversations did not take place and that is why there was obviously never a definitive answer from Professor Mário Centeno”.
In a communication to the country, the President of the Republic announced on Thursday the dissolution of Parliament and the calling of early parliamentary elections on March 10, 2024, scheduled by the President of the Republic, following the resignation of the Prime Minister, on March 10, 2024. Tuesday – fair.
According to the Public Prosecution Service, António Costa is the target of an investigation referred to the Supreme Court after suspects in a case involving lithium, green hydrogen and a data center in Sines invoked his name as having intervened to unblock proceedings.
When he resigned, the prime minister refused to commit “any unlawful or reprehensible act”.
According to the Public Prosecution Service, the case involving lithium, green hydrogen and the data center in Sines may include crimes, active and passive corruption of political office holders and influence peddling.
Source: DN
