This Wednesday, the PSD chairman challenged the prime minister to answer the party’s questions about the alleged interference in the Banco de Portugal and about the Banif resolution, accusing the government of “wasting clarification”.
Speaking at the Christmas dinner of the PSD parliamentary group, Luís Montenegro recalled that on November 23, the Social Democrats had asked 12 “direct questions” to the Prime Minister about the allegations of former Banco de Portugal governor Carlos Costa, which now remain unanswered. .
“I want to ask why, Mr. Prime Minister? So after all, nothing was going on, everything was not supported, everything was not an attack on honour? So it was easy to answer, it’s time to answer. No answer because this is the standard of this government”challenged.
With regard to this request – which has an indicative deadline of 30 days for a reply under Parliament’s Rules of Procedure – Montenegro insisted that the PSD does not want to know about personal issues between Carlos Costa and António Costa, which are for the courts to decide, but whether or not there was any interference from the Prime Minister in the functioning of the Bank of Portugal and also to clarify the process that led to the resolution of Banif.
The PSD leader resumed accusing António Costa of behaving like the new “owner of all this” and that the government “a majestic, imperial pose, of whom the absolute majority has” in parliament, in chambers, in parish councils and in the European Parliament.
Montenegro counted 20 the number of leaders the PS has already prevented from clarifying in parliament, stating that when he was parliamentary leader of a government with an absolute majority PSD/CDS-PP, there were “very few times” that the party voted against the parliamentary hearing of ministers.
“Clarification is of no use now, it is a government that does not deserve the majority it has,” considered.
In a lengthy intervention, Luís Montenegro also resumed criticizing the prime minister’s interview last week with Visão magazine, questioning the meaning of the “message” he had left to the opposition parties so that they could get used to four years PS board.
“Is the Prime Minister telling us the obvious or is he telling us to get used to what the government is doing? The country is impoverished, get used to it, there is a lack of GPs, get used to it, there is a lack of of teachers in schoolshe criticized, saying the PSD “doesn’t want to get used to a country being razed to the ground”.
“The Prime Minister is the one who is not used to it, if he feels that he is some kind of new ‘owner of it all’. [expressão muito utilizada no passado para designar o ex-banqueiro Ricardo Salgado]🇧🇷 He has to get used to our increasingly tough and demanding opposition.”warned.
Over the dinner, Montenegro praised the “serene and peaceful” performance of the parliamentary leader, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, and the way he handles “77 wills”, saying he knows from experience that it is not an “easy task”, especially as a novice deputy sheriff.
“Some accuse the leadership of the parliamentary party of being too closely linked to the leadership of the party. What a beautiful accusation, I’m glad it is.”he joked, adding that the PSD is not available “for parliamentary theatre”.
As a 2026 target, Montenegro set a target to move from the current 77 deputies on the Social Democratic bench to “at least 117”.
“That’s our goal, we’re not here to kill time”he assured, saying “to those who enjoy writing and talking” that the PSD “knows very well what it is doing” to achieve that goal.
He asked the deputies not to be intimidated by the absolute majority of the PS and challenged the left in two areas: that they show how important the constitutional reform is for people’s lives and more attention to issues of gender inequality.
The dinner, which brought together many national and district leaders of the party in addition to delegates, took place in a Christmas spirit with a choral group singing Alentejo music at the end and the exchange of gifts at the beginning: Miranda Sarmento gave a replica of the key of the palace from São Bento to Montenegro, and the PSD leader answered with bookends.
All participants were entitled to a Christmas present: two canned goods – one of tuna and the other of sardines – which the parliamentary leader justified as support for the Portuguese canning industry, at a time “when many Portuguese are struggling”.
“Instead of spending so much on a souvenir, we have decided that the parliamentary group will allocate a value of 15 euros for each deputy and employee, to be divided between two national institutions: the Food Bank against Hunger and the Portuguese League against Cancer.”, explains Miranda Sarmento.
Source: DN
