Because today, at the end of the morning, the presence of the Prime Minister, António Costa, and the Minister of Infrastructure, João Galamba, was expected in Paredes de Coura (Alto Minho), for the official inauguration of the new road connecting the business park from Formariz on the A3 (Porto-Valença), – open to traffic since March 24. The opening was scheduled for early April. Then for today. This one won’t be.
Costa returned to work after a vacation that started on April 26, but today he has no public agenda. His silence in the face of the “storm” that has sprung up around João Galamba has been the target of harsh criticism, especially from the right of the PS, starting with the PSD. He did, however, reply in writing this Monday to questions from the Observer about the intervention of the SIS in recovering a laptop used by the assistant dismissed by João Galamba.
PM “not aware”
“The Prime Minister was not and did not need to be informed. Nor has he exercised any due diligence. The Ministry of Infrastructure gave – and well – the alarm for the theft of a computer with secret documents. The authorities have acted accordingly within the scope of their legal powers.”
In any case, contrary to what was thought, he will not appear in public today for the first time after the holidays next to a minister who seems politically hanging by a thread. This would be seen as a sign that he would be willing to support him in government no matter what. He probably doesn’t want to give that signal. Nor any other. It still needs time. A “Government + Next” was planned for tomorrow and the day after tomorrow in Minho (Braga district), but it was not yet known this Monday whether the Prime Minister would appear.
“Things happen…”
This lack of definition is related to what the President of the Republic said this Monday about his talks (which have already taken place) with the Prime Minister on the “Galamba case”. “With certain particularly sensitive issues, their treatment is not in the public square, it is not in the media spotlight. They are dealt with, they are dealt with until they are seen to have been dealt with,” the PR said. “Things happen, they happen and then it turns out that they happened. These things are normally discreet. They are very sensitive matters of the state.”
Good economy and good politics
Then he left a warning: “Without good economics it is difficult to have good politics, but there can be good economics and that is not enough to have good politics”. Marcelo spoke to journalists at the end of the inauguration of the exhibition “Unidos Venceremos! Protest, Strikes and Trade Unions in Marcelismo” organized by the Commission for the Celebration of the 50th Anniversary on April 25, 1974 and by Ephemera.
This Monday, Frederico Pinheiro, the deputy sacked by Galamba – who accuses the minister of trying to withhold information from the parliamentary committee of inquiry into TAP, also said there was even a meeting to combine testimonies with the former CEO of TAP, Christine Ourmières-Widener, before testifying in parliament, stated her “complete availability” to testify before the deputies (which the PSD and Chega had already requested). A testimony whose explosive effect the government can only mitigate in one way: to put João Galamba to work as a minister.
Source: DN
