The Republic’s Assembly on Friday rejected Chega’s proposal to create an eventual committee on the alleged “offensive political interference in the banking system” by the prime minister, receiving only favorable votes from the proponent and the Initiative Liberal.
Chega proposed a possible parliamentary commission with the aim of “detecting and preventing abuses of political interference in the Portuguese banking system”.
The party also proposed in the draft resolution a revision of the legislation related to financial regulation and its autonomy, the promotion of hearings “with specialists in the sector and with the current and former governors and deputy governors of Banco de Portugal” and even the promotion, with the public prosecutor’s office, of “new investigations that prove necessary”.
The proposal received votes against from PS, PCP, BE and Livre, PSD and PAN abstained and Chega and Iniciativa Liberal voted in favour.
At the end of last year, parliament had already rejected (with the same votes) the establishment of a parliamentary commission of inquiry, also proposed by Chega, to assess “the prime minister’s possible political interference” over the former governor of Banco de Portugal “to investigate the daughter of to protect the president of Angola”.
Presenting the proposal, Chega’s leader defended that “the criticism, the crisis and the insinuations” of the former governor of the Banco de Portugal Carlos Costa “should not leave any party indifferent” and “should immediately make the democratic regime sound the alarm”, and assures that the party “will not give up” until the situation is clarified.
André Ventura criticized the parties for “looking to the side” in this matter and, addressing specifically the PSD, he stated that “those who think that by asking questions” they will get an answer from António Costa, may forget or do not know the Prime Minister well”.
For the PSD, Hugo Carneiro opined that “it’s not with this small committee that he’s going to solve anything”, challenging Chega to suggest lawmakers review the legislation and not make “populist numbers”.
The deputy said the PSD “will not give up seeking the necessary clarifications” and that it will be “deeply regrettable” if the Prime Minister asks again for an extension of the deadline to answer the party’s new 14 questions on the subject. to answer. .
Hugo Carneiro also defended that the PSD “does not follow Enough” and recalled that it is the only opposition party with the power to go to a potestative (compulsory) parliamentary committee of inquiry, with Ventura accusing the social democrats of “following” PS . trailer”.
André Ventura also said that, in electoral terms, Chega wants to “eat the entire PS bench”, prompting a comment from the President of the Assembly of the Republic: “Considering the threat of gastronomic violence by Mr André Ventura, they don’t worry about anything, unlike your threat of verbal abuse in this plenary, which will not be tolerated”.
Deputy Miguel Costa Matos, from the PS, pointed out that the European Central Bank clarified that “there was no political interference of any kind, neither offensive nor less offensive in the Banif resolution”, and accused Chega of “creating distrust in the banking system to revive”.
The socialist also said he did not want to fuel “competition between PSD, IL and Chega for leadership of the opposition”.
“We cannot understand Chega’s obsession with setting up committees when there is already a permanent committee in the Assembly of the Republic that has exactly these objectives,” said Duarte Alves of the PCP, who believed that Chega’s intention is ” to the PSD against the wall “and” disrupt the functioning of the Assembly of the Republic “.
Delegate Mariana Mortágua, from BE, also accused Chega of “wanting to do a number” with this proposal, criticizing that “it doesn’t make sense”.
For the lone delegates, Rui Tavares, from Livre, believed that “there was a lot to analyze” regarding the “interference of economic power through political party funding in party leaders”, but that Chega “doesn’t want to”. Inês de Sousa Real, from PAN, defended that “the problem of political interference in banking is not solved with a small committee, but with a strong Banco de Portugal”.
Chega’s proposal only received the support of IL, with former leader João Cotrim de Figueiredo saying that despite the instrument being “too crude” and the “clumsy proposal”, parliament “cannot step down from its functions and responsibilities”.
During today’s voting period, deputies also rejected two bills, one from IL that was intended to “abolish the contribution to the audiovisual sector, reduce the electricity bill of the Portuguese” and another from Chega that “amended the law that made the model financing of the public broadcaster” and television service to change the conditions for charging the audiovisual contribution”.
Source: DN
