IL accuses Costa of sacrificing Hugo Mendez to ‘lighten his responsibilities’

IL President Rui Rocha accused Antonio Costa on Monday of sacrificing Hugo Mendez, who had already been fired, “to lighten his duties” over TAP, the airline of “political banditry”, demanding an explanation from the first minister. .

“What we see is indecent, this is evidence that the PS uses public companies in the interests of the party itself, which does not know how to distinguish between state administration and party administration, we see the TAR involved in the internal wars of the PS and all this is unacceptable, indecent, and Antonio Costa has to explain much more than what he has explained so far,” Rui Rocha criticized in statements to the Lusa agency.

According to the leader of the “Liberal Initiative” (IL), the fact that the Prime Minister in response to Luce considered very serious the email that Hugo Mendez sent to the executive president of the TAR about the head of state, and said that he would force him to resign on place, is an attempt to hide behind “the already dismissed secretary of state.”

“What was demonstrated at the hearing of the commission of inquiry is much deeper and wider than what is the result of the sacrifice of the dismissed secretary of state,” he emphasized, given that “Antonio Costa promised the Portuguese flagship company” and what you see “company of political thugs”.

According to Rui Rochi, the Prime Minister “it took a long time to speak, and what he is doing now shows that he does not take responsibility for everything else,” given that the chief executive “has been in center of public opinion. “.

“Faced with this inability to control the media agenda, he has now tried a red herring by sacrificing someone who has already been fired, but he needs to explain much more, and every day, every hour that goes by without António Costa to explain everything that happened in TAP is another hour during which António Costa has to explain himself to the Portuguese,” he stressed.

In addition to an email requesting that the PVP’s trip be postponed “to please the President of the Republic”, explanations should also be given regarding the “secret meeting with the participation of members of ministries, deputies and advisers of the PS” the day before the hearing. executive president of TAP, defended the president of IL.

“And another question is that in the government of António Costa there were two ministers – Fernando Medina and Pedro Nuno Santos – who turned to TAP for clarifications, now knowing that these clarifications were prepared with the participation of Hugo Mendez. Either Pedro Nuno Santos lied to Fernando Medina or Fernando Medina also knew everything and was involved in all this “maroshka”, and therefore António Costa cannot now sacrifice someone who has already been fired to try to lighten his duties, ”he insisted .

António Costa told Luza this Monday that he “didn’t know” about the email, “and if he did, he would have made the minister [das Infraestruturas, Pedro Nuno Santos] fire him [o então secretário de Estado]during”.

“This is very serious from the point of view of institutional relations with the President of the Republic and is unacceptable in the relations that the Government should maintain with public companies,” he stressed.

At the TAP Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry on Tuesday, Liberal Initiative MP Bernardo Blanco clashed with Christine Urmier-Widener in an email exchange with then-Secretary of State for Infrastructure Hugo Mendez about a possible change in the date of a flight carrying head of state Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa as a passenger.

In this email he sent to TAP’s executive president, former Secretary of State for Infrastructure Hugo Méndez argued that it was important to maintain political support for Marcelo Rebel de Souza given that he was the government’s “major ally” but that could be a “worst nightmare” .

The day after the hearing, the Presidency of the Republic stated in a written note that it had never contacted TAP or any government member to change the return flight from Mozambique in March 2022.