One on the nail, the other on the horseshoe. Pedro Nuno Santos opened on Tuesday a dialogue “to the right and to the centre” in the event of a government with a relative majority of the PS and even said that “there are matters where understanding for the PSD is desirable and important”, but he stated reiterated that a possible government of the PSD and the Liberal Initiative would be more radical than the PSD/CDS coalition government at the time of the Troika and emphasized that Luís Montenegro had never criticized the PSD-Chega agreement in the Azores.
The candidate for the PS leadership underlined that “the memory of the thing is good” and did not answer whether he was available to make a PSD minority government viable, saying that he was “not very good at working in defeat scenarios” and that the “PSD minority government will work to win.”
The former Minister of Infrastructure is suspicious of an alliance between PSD and Chega and says that the PS’s possible left-wing partners are not equal to André Ventura’s party. “The PSD has an agreement with Chega in the Azores and the PSD leader has never criticized it. There is no equivalence between the Bloco de Esquerda, the PCP and Chega. The problem the PSD has has no parallel with the reality on the left. “he stated in an interview with CNN Portugal.
Confronted with a statement he made in 2011 proposing not to pay the national debt, Pedro Nuno Santos acknowledged that this “statement was not happy” but explained that it was made “during a celebratory dinner, at a certain time” . and that He was subsequently part of a government that reduced the national debt.
“The national debt has fallen during the years of construction, nothing in this issue is at risk. Reducing the debt is a consensus between left and right”he emphasized.
“Carneiro is a very valid activist and a great minister”
Regarding the internal dispute with José Luís Carneiro, he praised his opponent. “I do not know the strength of José Luís Carneiro’s candidacy. He is a very valid activist, a great minister and I have great respect for him. He is someone the activists like and respect. Of course it’s not a walk. in the park. Every act of election is decided at the time of the election. When I go to elections, all scenarios are possible, but we go with the belief that we have the best program for the PS and for the country.”he declared, ensuring that he and the current Interior Minister will be on the same side after the PS elections.
Pedro Nuno Santos also admitted that he had already spoken to António Costa after announcing his candidacy and that the relationship between the two is “great, contrary to what many people think”. “I owe him the opportunity to be part of the government,” he added, but admitted that “it is normal” that the prime minister and José Luís Carneiro “have a good relationship.”
Airport after the report and privatization of TAP without haste
Asked about important issues for the country, such as the location of the new Lisbon airport, Pedro Nuno Santos expressed no preference and only submitted a position after the publication of the Independent Technical Commission report.
“There was agreement between PS and PSD on the methodology to be followed. A decision will be made, with or without the PSD’s consent. I will not question the process. There will be a report indicating positive and negative points of each and there will certainly be a debate. We cannot remain paralyzed again, we lose a lot of money because there is no decision”he emphasized.
Regarding the privatization of TAP, he believed that it is “important” to establish a connection between the national carrier and an aviation group, but stressed that “there is no rush”. “TAP is healthy from a financial and operational point of view. All potential investors should know that the Portuguese state is not desperate. When we sell a house, we do not want to expose the necessity of the sale and we must do the same with KRAAN”he stated, emphasizing that “it is important that the state remains in TAP.”
‘Operation Influencer? It was a betrayal for António Costa’
Asked whether the fact that there are two PS prime ministers with legal problems could harm the party, Pedro Nuno Santos said that “in this process [Operação Influencer] we are still far from drawing conclusions” and explained that “the PS does not have a structural and chronic problem with problems with Justice”. “That is not the case,” he emphasized.
Concerned about the “ongoing process”, but without making any major comments because “the separation of powers is a basic principle, not a refuge for the PS”, he defended the choices of the still prime minister.
“António Costa chose who he surrounded himself with because of his work, not because he hid cash in his office. It was a betrayal for him”shot.
Source: DN
