Prime Minister António Costa and the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, met on Tuesday in Palácio de Belém. Another crisis in the government is on the table, not without the departure of João Galamba, Minister of Infrastructure, but also other ministers of the current executive branch.
This was a very active day for Costa, who met João Galamba at about 1:30 am this morning in São Bento to discuss the latest case that shocked the government, which again had TAP at the epicenter.
Since Galamba left the Prime Minister’s official residence, decisions are expected on his possible departure from the government, although it cannot be ruled out that other ministers will be replaced by Costa, in a refurbishment that the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, has left so need to understand in a telephone conversation he had with the Prime Minister.
That conversation then led to a meeting between Costa and Galamba, this after Saturday, the Minister of Infrastructure said in a press conference that he had reported to the Deputy Secretary of State to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice of the theft of the computer by the acquitted deputy sheriff Frederico Pinheiro, after being told to notify the SIS and the PJ. According to the minister, he was told in this telephone conversation that he “should speak to the Minister of Justice”, which he guarantees that he did.
However, António Costa assured in an interview with RTP3 that he was not aware of the involvement of the Information and Security Service (SIS) in the recovery of the computer and that no one from the government instructed the intelligence services to do anything.
In that same interview, Costa said that “what happened is not admissible even as an exception”. “It is clear that it is not the norm or rule for a government to function, what has happened is something that is intolerable”the head of government strengthened the public television channel.
However, António Costa pointed out emphatically that he was not referring to the behavior of his minister, João Galamba. On the latter, he said, “it is legitimate for a minister to fire an employee in whom he has lost confidence”.
The next few hours will be decisive for the future of the government, namely with regard to the continuity of Galamba and a possible reshuffle of the management of António Costa.
Source: DN
