The President of the Republic will hear all parties represented in Parliament this Wednesday, a day after the resignation of the Prime Minister. Antonio Costa understood that the suspicions falling on him as part of the Supreme Court investigation into his interference in the lithium and green hydrogen business were “incompatible with the dignity” of the position.
Facing dismissal, Marcelo Rebelo de Souza He has two options: either ask the parliamentary majority of the Socialist Party (PS) to nominate a new name for prime minister, or dissolve parliament and call early elections. In the latter case, the PS must give the PS time to organize internally and elect a new general secretary, which will take at least two months. Until Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa’s statement accepting António Costa’s resignation is published in the Diário da República, the government and all ministers will remain in power.
The President of the Republic also meets with the Council of State on Thursday, the day he addresses the country for the first time since the political crisis began.
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Updated November 8, 2023 | 14:39
The left bloc is in favor of calling early elections
The coordinator of Bloco de Esquerda expressed “concern about the seriousness of the suspicions” that fall on António Costa and asked for the prosecutor’s office to speed up the investigation. “The proper functioning of institutions requires clarity,” stressed Mariana Mortagua.
Given the current scenario, the blocker leader stressed the urgency of “finding a solution to the political crisis” and supported the call for early elections to “urge the Portuguese to make a decision.”
PAN asks to ensure compliance with the state budget
The PAN representative asked that the state budget be respected, regardless of whether the decision involves “the dissolution of the Assembly of the Republic and the calling of new elections or the appointment by the government of a new prime minister.”
Ines Souza Real argued that this concern must be “above partisan interests” and guaranteed that the PAN was ready “for any circumstances.”
Livre argues that the Portuguese should be “better aware of the legal contours” of the case involving Antonio Costa.
Livre spokesman Rui Tavares said the Portuguese should be “better aware of the judicial contours” of the case involving António Costa, and said budget negotiations were “totally empty” and that if elections were to take place, they would have to happen quickly.
“It is not in the interests of the country that a situation of uncertainty continues and that for a long time we did not have a democratically elected parliament that could clarify the future path of the country,” he said.