Montenegro says Portuguese ‘no longer respect government’

PSD leader Luis Montenegro said this Saturday that the Portuguese “no longer respect the government or the performance of certain functions by some of its members.”

Responding to a question from journalists in Fátima (Santarem) about the continuation of João Galamba’s work in the executive branch led by the socialist António Costa, Luis Montenegro began by explaining that the party had already expressed its opinion about the performance of this member of the government of duties “of a long time.” time ago”.

“I don’t think today [este sábado] This is the main reason for concern of the Portuguese. The Portuguese no longer have respect for the government or for the exercise of specific functions by some of its members,” he said on the sidelines of a meeting of the coordinators of the National Strategic Council.

Earlier, the PSD leader stressed that the country “needs a new government, it needs to open the cycle of development, the cycle of hopes and ambitions,” adding that “this is pointing the country towards an alternative party, which is the Social Democratic Party.” , so he must “live up to this responsibility.”

Guaranteeing that the SDP has a qualified team consisting of “people from different fields of activity, with different qualifications, who are not limited to the staff of the SDP,” the Social Democrat added that the party has attracted “qualified people without party preference” to indicate that “ while others are more interested in issues of a cyclical nature,” he is focused “on giving Portugal a new path, a new hope, a new majority and a new government.”

According to Luis Montenegro, this is what will attract the party’s attention and “work until the last day of the election campaign” to achieve the desired result, namely “the trust of the majority of the Portuguese people, the conditions of governability, the stability of the government.”

When asked which of the two already known candidates to succeed António Coste as secretary general of the Social Democratic Party (José Luis Carneiro and Pedro Nuno Santos) he would prefer to meet, the PSD president replied that he would prefer to “give the Portuguese a program of hope for development, and this is certainly on the side of the SDP.”

Infrastructure Minister João Galamba guaranteed in parliament on Friday that he would not resign after being accused in a trial related to his lithium and hydrogen business.

“No, I’m not going to [apresentar a demissão]”, said João Galamba, speaking at a joint parliamentary hearing between the Committee on Budget and Finance and the Committee on Economy, Public Works, Planning and Housing as part of the evaluation of the state budget for 2024 (OE2024).

Prime Minister António Costa will meet on Tuesday with the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, to discuss the situation in the government of the Minister of Infrastructure, a source in the executive branch told Luse this Saturday.

On Thursday, attending a meeting of the PS National Political Commission in Lisbon, the Prime Minister already announced that he would talk with the head of state about the position of the Minister of Infrastructure in the government.

Portugal will hold early legislative elections on March 10, 2024, scheduled by the President of the Republic, following the resignation of the Prime Minister on Tuesday.

António Costa became the subject of an investigation by the Office of the Public Prosecutor (MP) at the Supreme Court after suspects in a case linked to a business related to lithium, green hydrogen and a data center in Sines named him as having intervened to unblock the procedures.

The MP believes that the Prime Minister interfered with the approval of the diploma to benefit the interests of the company responsible for the data center, Start Campus, according to the indictment, which contains several other references to António Costa.

On the day of his dismissal, Costa refused to engage in “any illegal or objectionable acts.”