José Vieira da Silva said this in an interview with Renaissance and Público that the race to succeed António Costa is “ongoing” and is not unrelated to the controversies the Ministry of Infrastructure has been involved in.
“Let’s speak with complete clarity and candor: this succession issue has been going on for years, assumed. And we all know who the key players are”began by saying the former labor minister and socialist leader. “I do not think that the emergence of this problem has nothing to do with what happened, namely in the Ministry of Infrastructure”he stressed.
Vieira da Silva, the father of the minister of the presidency, another potential candidate to succeed the current prime minister, understands that “every attentive observer” notes that Pedro Nuno Santos is more vulnerable after the controversy over the compensation of 500 thousand euros paid to Alexandra Reis when the former manager of TAP left and doubts whether in 2026 it will be possible to forget this case. “Not many politicians can make changes, there are one or two who can”considered.
The former labor minister says Pedro Nuno Santos will be “very welcome in parliament” when he returns in September and that “it would be very unpleasant” if he tainted the life of the government and the PS.
Left aside, for the former leader, is the possibility that Costa will continue to lead the Socialist Party beyond 2026. “I really have no idea. António Costa is a special person, who has a very great political capacity and political sensitivity. He will make his trade-offs. It would be a bit original in our democracy”considered.
Vieira da Silva says it is “difficult” to say whether keeping João Galamba was the right decision, but he understood the option António Costa chose.
As for the President of the Republic, he believes that a possible dissolution of parliament “is not a matter of current policy, but an exceptional situation”, not least because “a dissolution of the assembly imposes a set of regulations, has rules and requirements and must be applied in a very thoughtful, very sober way”.
Source: DN
