The Liberal Initiative (IL) president questioned on Saturday whether retaining Marta Temido as health minister after her resignation will be a “punishment”, a “sort of fine” for the timing of the request that did not please António Costa.
“It is the first time a minister has resigned and remains in office for 15 days. Is it a punishment? That is because this resignation comes at an uneasy ‘timing’ for the prime minister who has already stated that it was not the first time the resigned? Is it to burn the minister some more and keep the minister or the next minister?” João Cotrim Figueiredo wondered.
The IL leader, who spoke to journalists in Póvoa de Varzim (Porto district), where he visited the municipal market to speak with merchants and customers, believed that the reasons for this interview in office, the only one that is not excluded in the face of known facts, is to face “a kind of penance”.
“Of the various possible reasons for keeping someone in office, the only one that is not excluded from the facts we have is that it is a kind of penance for the Minister of Health to have chosen a ‘timing’ that the Prime Minister didn’t like Minister – We know the Prime Minister has that air of bonhomie, but he’s not exactly good natured when it comes to these things,” he said.
Cotrim Figueiredo, who blamed the PS government for the “disastrous state” of the National Health Service “and a range of public services”, responded to António Costa’s verdict on changing policies only by overthrowing the government.
“This seems to be a provocation of the Prime Minister who, behind a wall he finds impregnable from the absolute majority, says: ‘Do you want to change something? Then throw me down.’ We’re not going to do the scoop on that favor, we’ll continue to criticize the places where it hurts the most,” he said.
On Tuesday, António Costa warned that “whoever wants to change policy must overthrow the government” as the replacement of a member of the executive, such as that of Health, will be a change in “personality, energy or style”.
“I thought it was funny until I saw the government’s main critics say it’s important to change policies. Anyone who wants to change policies must overthrow the government,” António Costa replied to journalists after a statement about the resignation of the government. Marta Temido, the post of Minister of Health.
Today the president of IL recalled that “the policy of the governments of António Costa in Health” [com Adalberto Campos Fernandes e Marta Temido] were not quite the same and there was no overthrow of the government”.
“There were political changes, so this is just an argument of political rhetoric,” said João Cotrim Figueiredo.
Still talking about the resignation of Marta Temido, the IL leader took the opportunity to talk about the changes the new SNS statute could introduce, pointing out that “it has already been realized that it will not solve any problem” .
“The oracle, Mr President of the Republic, has already given this indication: that it will not solve any problem because it replaces a centralization in the Ministry of Health with another centralization in an executive direction of the SNS. It will not solve anything … so much decision-making power that the question became why do we have the Ministry of Health?” he asked.
Source: DN
