The Madeiran government concluded this Monday a series of meetings with the parties to reach consensus on the executive program, expressing confidence that the new proposal it will present to the regional parliament on Tuesday will be approved.
“The negotiations are over,” said the regional minister of education, science and technology, who oversees parliamentary affairs, Jorge Carvalho, after a final meeting with the leader of Chega/Madeira, Miguel Castro, in Funchal.
A government official who took part in the round of talks with regional Finance Minister Rogerio Gouveia and the Chief of Staff of the President of the Madeira Government (PSD) Rui Abreu considered the meetings to be “extremely positive”.
“All the parties that participated in them not only submitted proposals, but also in this principle of dialogue with all political forces that have seats in parliament, there was openness on the part of the regional government to accept some of these proposals,” he said.
According to the person in charge, “the meeting [com o Chega] was final and at the same time concluded the period of consultation with the parties that were available for negotiations with the government [Regional] with the aim of harmonizing the set of proposals for the government program”, which is headed by the social democrat Miguel Albuquerque.
Jorge Carvalho also announced that the new proposal for the government’s programme will be presented to the Legislative Assembly of Madeira on Tuesday, and its discussion will depend on the agenda of the Conference of Representatives of the Parties of the Island’s Parliament.
Asked if he believed the document would be approved, a government official said it “obviously” would be, adding that it was “a belief that the government has had after holding these meetings.”
The secretary added that “all parties presented a package of proposals that were accepted,” adding that Chega proposed creating an office for the prevention of corruption outside the regional executive structure, in addition to auditing and monitoring the activities of the region’s account.
According to Jorge Carvalho, the proposals presented by the various parties represent “an assumption of responsibility in the debate on the Programme in Parliament”.
As for the “arm’s length” with Chega, which continues to insist on the removal of Miguel Albuquerque from the leadership of the regional government, the government official reiterated that the meetings were held “for the purpose of coordinating the measures of the State Program” and the president of the executive branch of the archipelago does not figure in this set of goals.
Jorge Carvalho declined to say whether he had any guarantees from the Chega leader about the viability of the government’s programme, arguing only that “as a party that currently has parliamentary representation”, it has the duty “to assume responsibility at the right time, given the current context in the region”.
“The government is entering into a new discussion of the government program with the conviction that there is a set of measures from various parties that have been agreed upon and are part of this new government program,” he stressed.
Thus, “based on this principle,” the regional government believes that “the parties will take on their obligations and assume responsibility,” he said.
The regional secretary also once again criticized the position of the PS and the AKP, which refused to negotiate with the regional government, considering that “avoiding dialogue, avoiding discussion, avoiding presenting proposals – this is undoubtedly a entrenchment in what is directly opposite to the fact that the goal of democracy is dialogue and the coordination of proposals.”
“These two parties have moved away from what the democratic process is,” he stressed.
On the 19th, Miguel Albuquerque announced the withdrawal of the government program from the debate that had been taking place in the Madeiran Parliament for two days, with a vote scheduled for the following day in the form of a vote of confidence.
The document will be rejected because the PS, JPP and Chega, with a total of 24 deputies out of 47 in the semicircle (which corresponds to an absolute majority), have declared their vote against.
In this scenario, the regional government invited the parties with seats in parliament to meetings to reach consensus on the government program. The PS and JPP rejected the offer. After negotiations (without Miguel Albuquerque present at the meetings), the sole IL deputy announced that he would abstain, and the PAN candidate indicated his willingness to make the offer viable.
In the early regional elections on May 26, the SDP elected 19 deputies, giving it five terms to achieve an absolute majority, PS managed 11, AKP nine, Çega four and SDS-NP two, while IL and PAN elected one deputy each.
Following the vote, the SDP signed a parliamentary agreement with the Christian Democrats, but still lacked an absolute majority. The two parties have a combined 21 seats.
The May elections come eight months after the Madeiran legislative elections on 24 September 2023, after the President of the Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa dissolved the Madeiran Parliament following a political crisis that arose in January when Miguel Albuquerque was named as a defendant in a case of alleged corruption.
The Social Democrat resigned in February and the then leader was in charge.
You now have until July 6 (30 days after taking office) to resubmit the Program. If approved, the next task will be this year’s budget, which was not discussed in the previous legislature due to the political crisis.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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