“There is no point in talking about dissolution periodically,” says Marcelo of dissatisfaction with the government

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said on Monday that “it makes no sense to periodically talk about the dissolution” of the government. The President of the Republic says that the election period is scheduled for a four-month break.

In response to journalists in Mursa, Vila Real district, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa stated that “at the moment there is no obvious political alternative” and called on the opposition to “turn the sum of numbers” in the polls into a political alternative, that this is a reality strong enough to the Portuguese could say: in the future we have this alternative.”

The President of the Republic considered that “in the eyes of the Portuguese, the initiative bringing together deputies, the government and the TAP leadership to prepare what will be a parliamentary intervention” failed in January, which he likened to “a teacher is preparing an exam with the students you are going to examine” .

At stake is a videoconference meeting with TAP Executive President Christine Urmier-Widener on January 17 this year, ahead of her hearing at the Economy Committee of the Assembly of the Republic.

“This, I think, was an unnecessary strain of intuition, I think it was unnecessary. And it is legitimate to ask the government not only to do this in order to govern faster and better – I insisted on this, better and faster – and to be aware of these situations, which have much more wear and tear than the facts in terms of image,” the head of state said.

In these statements to journalists, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa stated that “just as the opposition cannot take for granted that the president pushed, pushed, pushed one day to dissolve – it’s better not to take it for granted, the president is not being held hostage by the opposition.” but neither can the government take for granted that, since it has an absolute majority, it is life insurance against dissolution.”

“The president is not in the pocket of the opposition and not in the pocket of the government. He is in his pocket, he is free and independent,” he stressed.

The head of state does not want to “talk about dissolution every two months” and insists that the opposition commit itself to “showing that this is an alternative.”

As for the government, he asked him to avoid “situations of unnecessary wear and tear on institutions” and to look after “good governance”, adding: “You have to justify that this majority is workable to go to the end of the mandate. “.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa also ruled out the possibility of convening a Council of State due to TAP-related controversy. He added that the next meeting of his political advisory body is scheduled for June with MEP President Roberta Metsola as a guest to discuss the European and international situation.

Faced with the view of Council of State member Luis Márquez Méndez that the current episodes were more serious than the circumstances that led to the dissolution of Parliament by former President of the Republic Jorge Sampaio, and questioning whether the current economic situation was a decisive factor, the Head of State responded that “everything differently in the situation in one case, and in the other all.

“Firstly, President Sampaio was at the end of his term – I am not at the end of his term. Secondly, there was neither war, nor the inflation that we have now, nor the situation that we know, there were no European funds ., with such a size and with such a short period of application – so immediately a different world. Then it turned out that the majority was a majority led by a prime minister who did not go to the polls [Santana Lopes]replaced the one who went to vote [Durão Barroso] “Here is the prime minister who went to the polls,” he said.

On the other hand, according to the President of the Republic, at the time of the dissolution adopted at the end of 2004, “there was an obvious alternative, the ruling party on the left”, PS, while “at this moment there is no obvious alternative politically”.

“If you add it all up, there will be no parallels,” he concluded.

To illustrate his role in the current political framework, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa resorted to a recent conversation “with some popular people, just as down to earth”, who he reported advised him to “pull up your ears as the case may be” and “when he understands, that it is fair to draw attention”, but “now there are no elections”.

“It’s a very popular expression to pull the ears, but that’s the president’s job,” he agreed.

The president must “be attentive” and “listen to what the opposition says, listen to what the government says” but “he must be independent in his judgment and look at what is good for the country at the moment.” moment,” he said.