The PSD leader this Saturday believed that the president of the republic had given the right reading by ruling out for the time being a scenario of dissolution of parliament, emphasizing that early elections can only take place as a result of the implosion of the government itself .
Luís Montenegro took this position at a press conference in Lisbon, at the end of the first meeting of the PSD’s new National Strategic Council (CEN) – the party’s advisory body with a team of coordinators, chaired by the former leader of the JSD and former Secretary of State Pedro Duarte.
At the press conference, the PSD chairman was questioned about statements made late Friday afternoon by Head of State Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, in which he warned that he could not count on him for the dissolution of parliament.
“They are counting on me to have the same institutional behavior that I have had for seven years,” countered the president of the republic.
Faced with this position, the social democratic leader stated that the president of the republic “has the correct political reading in that he is not ignorant that there have been elections less than a year ago, he is not ignorant that there is exceptional governance is conditions – the government has no problem [institucional] in the implementation of its program – and also recognizes that there are immediate administrative requirements that should not be wasted”.
“The country has been distracted for several weeks solely due to matters of great importance occurring within the government. And an executive should not be in the news for his affairs, but for his decisions and the results achieved for the development of the country” , noted.
Now, for Luís Montenegro, the President of the Republic called on the government to rule, fulfill its duty and stop being distracted by its own guilt in the weakening of its protagonists”.
“Unfortunately, the government has not solved the problems yet, as we have two ministers [da Agricultura, Maria do Céus Antunes, e das Finanças, Fernando Medina] weakened politically and also because of their inability to respond unequivocally to the responsibilities placed upon them,” he said, here in reference to the TAP cases and the resignation of Secretary of State Carla Alves.
Asked if he agrees with the head of state when he understands that the instability within the socialist executive is over, the PSD president pointed out that Strictly speaking, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa understands that “the possibility of a break in the legislature is obsolete – and this was resolved on Thursday with the vote of censure” filed by the Liberal Initiative.
For the leader of the Social Democrat “there is no reason at the moment” for a dissolution of parliament and for the legislature not to be fulfilled, unless there is an “implosion” of the government of António Costa and the absolute majority socialist in the Assembly of the Republic.
“The norm is to hold parliamentary elections in 2026. Anything that goes against this normality does not depend on us, rather it depends on the inability, ineffectiveness, incompetence and disintegration of the government. Unfortunately, with a very high inflation, with unresponsive health services, with unmotivated teachers and shortages in several schools, with fiscal suffocation and with extraordinary and crucial funding instruments, such as the PRR and Portugal 20230, with an absolute majority in parliament, it was expected that the government would concentrate on governing,” he said.
Faced with a sort of statement claiming that the PSD is not leading the opposition, Luís Montenegro replied: “I am concerned about leading the government”.
“My main concern is to focus on opposing the PS and the government to be a credible, strong, mobilizing and winning alternative. Until ten days ago, all public actors (commentators, analysts or journalists) stated conclusively that the PSD, with this direction, was more proactive, with a more present and fierce opposition, reacting even on top of the political situation Well, that didn’t change in ten days just because the PSD decided to abstain from voting on a motion of censure by a party [Iniciativa Liberal. Sei que se quer criar esse clima, mas nada mudou nos últimos dias e somos naturalmente os líderes da oposição”, reagiu o líder social-democrata.
Source: DN
