BE, PCP, Livre and PAN criticised the choice of María Luis Albuquerque as European Commissioner this Wednesday and called for a parliamentary hearing of the former minister, while PSD, CDS and IL praised the executive’s choice.
Reacting in Parliament to the government’s choice of candidate for the post of European Commissioner, BE MP Fabião Figueiredo criticised the executive’s choice, recalling Maria Luís Albuquerque as “an agent of the troika in the Portuguese government” and one of the “main authors of this policy of social destruction”, showing a willingness to listen to the former Minister of Finance in the Assembly of the Republic.
“Maria Luis Albuquerque is the representative of the troika policy in Portugal, of social destruction and of the mismanagement of public funds that benefit the financial system,” added the MP, recalling the commission investigating the “swaps” (debt management contracts) that, according to him, cost the public treasury millions due to the responsibility of the candidate for the post of commissioner.
Paula Santos, parliamentary leader of the PCP, joined the criticism of the government and stressed that Albuquerque was a member of the executive with “poor memory of workers and the Portuguese people”, arguing that possible parliamentary hearings would be a “good opportunity” to question the former minister.
Livre, through MP Jorge Pinto, also criticized the role of the commissioner candidate during her tenure as minister and the government for the lack of dialogue in this choice, saying that the party will demand parliamentary hearings in Albuquerque so that it can explain its vision of the European project.
PAN, led by MP Inês de Sousa Real, criticised the choice and also announced that the party would propose that the former minister be heard in parliament so that she could explain “the vision she will present to the EU on behalf of Portugal”.
The party has already filed a request with the AP asking for the former minister to be heard in the European Affairs Committee, stating that the government’s lack of dialogue on this choice is “particularly serious and worthy of criticism in a context in which little is known about what Dr. María Luis Albuquerque thinks about the EU and the challenges it faces.”
In opposition to the right, IL was the only party that reacted in Parliament and, through MP Mariana Leitan, recognised the competence of the candidate for the post of European Commissioner for the position she will hold.
The MP left a call for the promotion of European policies to protect individual liberties and asked for a strategy for Portugal to respond to the reduction in European funds as a result of EU enlargement.
Among the government parties, the PSD of Antonio Rodríguez considered the opposition’s criticism of the lack of dialogue unfair, stressing that it is the choice that worries the government, and also recalled the speculation around the government’s choice that “has already become known and it is known that Albuquerque could be a candidate.”
“We think that the opposition is making a mistake here because it is trying to support something that is usually a consensus even in Portuguese society (…) any criticism that is aimed at projecting national policies onto a European dimension. This is a grave mistake,” he said.
Regarding the CDS, MP Paulo Nuncio welcomed the government’s choice and expressed gratitude to Maria Luís Albuquerque for the political experience acquired when “she was called upon to lead the destinies of Portugal in a particularly difficult moment, probably one of the most difficult in our history and guaranteed that the centrists were heard on this government decision.
The Portuguese government has nominated former Finance Minister Maria Luis Albuquerque as its candidate for the post of European Commissioner, the Prime Minister announced on Wednesday.
Maria Luis Albuquerque, 56, was minister of state and finance during Portugal’s troika bailout, replacing Vitor Gaspar in July 2013 and remaining until the end of the executive led by Pedro Passos Coelho.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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