Costa Wednesday in Parliament with economy to oppose the Galamba case

On Wednesday, the Prime Minister will be in Parliament for another general policy debate, in which he will attempt to highlight the evolution of the Portuguese economy to counter a series of incidents involving Minister João Galamba.

“We will continue to obey, no matter how loud the voices are heard here. [no parlamento] from some benches or anyone who wants to challenge us to institutional tricks, which is clearly not the dance we want to dance,” António Costa said on March 22 during the latest general policy debate held in the Assembly of the Republic.

At that time, the main issues discussed were related to the remarks of the President of the Republic about the real ability of the “overheated majority” of the PS to respond to the country’s problems in sectors such as housing and education, or to mitigate the effects of inflation.

With regard to TAP, detailed clarifications were expected from Christine Urmier-Widener, who was fired on March 6 as executive president, and from former Secretary of State for the Treasury Alexandra Reis. Among the tasks was the need to determine the possible responsibility of the Minister of Finance Fernando Medina in the process of paying compensation in the amount of 500 thousand euros to Alexandra Reis for her departure from the TAR administration.

Two months later, political attention is focused on Infrastructure Minister Joao Galamba.

João Galamba, who replaced Pedro Nuno Santos as Minister of Infrastructure in January, is embroiled in several disputes, the first of which involves his possible responsibility for scheduling a meeting between PS deputies and the former TAP executive president previously for the French manager. appear before Parliament.

When investigating the facts related to this meeting, within the framework of the parliamentary commission of inquiry of the TAR, episodes later became known that were considered more serious and unusual: Attacks in the minister’s office; a computer seized from the Ministry of Infrastructure containing classified information by a former deputy (Federico Pinheiro), who had been fired shortly before; and contact the Information and Security Services (SIS) to restore this computer.

On the morning of May 2, António Costa received João Galamba in Sao Bento to listen to the explanations he had to present, and at the beginning of the night announced that he had decided to keep him in the government, relieving him of responsibility in connection with a series of incidents that the prime minister himself the minister described as “deplorable”.

Two days later, in an address to the country, the President of the Republic acknowledged his disagreement with the decision of the Prime Minister and left a warning: “In order to prevent the emergence and growth of insurmountable and undesirable factors of conflict, I will have to be even more attentive and more involved in everyday life so as not to resort to exceptional powers that the Constitution gives me and which I cannot refuse.

Thus, the bimonthly debate on Wednesday takes place at a time when the President of the Republic is distancing himself from the leader of the executive branch and when the opposition as a whole demands not only the resignation of João Galamba, but also a detailed acquaintance with the intervention of members of the Government (including António Costa) in the idea of ​​involving SIS in this case.

António Costa stated that he was not aware of the SIS report about the incident with the computer seized from the Ministry of Infrastructure. And, in view of requests for the resignation of the General Secretary of the Information System of the Portuguese Republic (SIRP), Graça Ambassador Mira Gomes, namely PSD, defends the legitimacy of the SIS’s actions in a case that he characterizes as “usual”.

On the political field, the prime minister supported the thesis that there is a difference between the media plan and the “real concerns” of citizens about living conditions.

To this end, he contrasts João Galamba’s data on the evolution of the Portuguese economy, which showed growth of 2.4% in the first quarter of this year – one of the highest in the European Union – along with the prospect of a gradual decline in inflation and debt. It also underscored the idea that the “right” wants to accelerate a “man-made” political crisis before economic gains have a practical impact on the lives of citizens at large.

On the opposition side, Chega and the Liberal Initiative defend the dissolution of parliament and the calling of early legislative elections, a position that the SDP has not yet claimed at the institutional level.

However, on Tuesday, at the close of the PSD’s parliamentary days in Funchal, party chairman Luis Montenegro said that the current PS-dominated political cycle was coming to an end.

“You don’t have to be so close, they are there, like saucers, clinging there. That’s what democracy is, you had your time, you had your opportunity, and you’ve already spent it. Our turn is coming, we will be in the right place to win the elections and govern Portugal,” he said.

As for the Eskerda Bloc, the general policy debate with the prime minister will be Katarina Martins’ last as party coordinator, a role in which she will be replaced by Mariana Mortagua.

Like the benches to the PS’s right, Bloco de Esquerda defends the prime minister’s hearing, “preferably in person”, at the TAP commission of inquiry and understands that Joao Galamba does not have the credibility necessary to remain infrastructure minister. .

The PCP is taking a different line of opposition to the government, seeking to focus its intervention on criticizing the degradation of public services and demanding a more effective response to the rising cost of living, putting matters around minister João Galamba to a secondary position. .