The PSD National Council is meeting this Wednesday evening in Lisbon to approve party bills, discuss the new quota regulation and analyze the political situation.
This is the first meeting of the highest organ of the party between the congresses of the year, and it takes place at a period marked by deeds and resignations in the government, but in which the first internal public criticisms of the form of Luis Montenegro’s opposition also appear.
The agenda includes presentation, discussion and voting on the report and reporting for 2021 (including municipal elections), presentation, discussion and voting on the activity plan and budget of the party for 2023, as well as the presentation of the new Regulations on Quotas. , which will be simplified.
The last point is devoted to the analysis of the political situation a few weeks after several resignations of members of the government, including the resignation of Pedro Nuno Santos, and at a time when news of controversies and court cases involving some members of the Executive continues. such as Finance Minister Fernando Medina, Foreign Minister (former Defense Minister) João Gomes Cravinho, or Environment Minister Duarte Cordeiro.
The PSD also saw a well-known supporter of Luis Montenegro involved in a court case: Operation Whirlwind, which resulted in the arrest of the mayor of Espinho (PS) Miguel Reis (who resigned from his mandate), as well as searches of the residence of Joaquim Pinto Moreira. confiscation of his computer and mobile phone.
The deputy and former president of this autarchy in the district of Aveiro between 2009 and 2021 has not yet been prosecuted, and the request to waive parliamentary immunity has not reached parliament, but has already left the post of vice president. he held a seat on the PSD bench and chaired the Constitutional Review Commission.
Responding to repeated questions about the consequences of “deeds” in the government, the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, categorically ruled out the dissolution scenario, saying that “it is not clear whether there will be an immediate obvious and strong alternative to what exists.”
Domestically, the meeting of the National Council comes just weeks after the PSD leadership decided to abstain from a vote of no confidence in the government by the IL, with critical statements from MPs André Coelho Lima and Carlos Eduardo Reis last week warning. about the dangers of “lack of demarcation” or the lukewarmness of the Social Democrats.
On Friday, Expresso also published an article by defeated candidate Jorge Moreira da Silva, in which he criticizes the government as well as opposition parties that “do not risk offering alternatives and limit themselves to registering the fight”, announcing that from the end of January it will promote “wide public debate a new generation of policies and measures capable of positioning Portugal.”
In recent weeks, former leader Rui Rio has also returned to public space, albeit without commenting on national politics, with Pedro Passos Coelho appearing via social media at dinners with party figures such as former Secretary of State José Eduardo Martins. , but in silence, since in December he wrote an op-ed for the online newspaper Observador urging parties opposed to the decriminalization of euthanasia to commit to repealing the law in the future if they win a majority in parliament.
The SDP’s National Council met for the last time on November 11 to approve a draft revision of the party’s constitution, a meeting that passed peacefully with only occasional criticism over how the process was handled.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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