The PSD does not conduct a “secret” investigation, but votes on Chega and IL’s proposals.

This Wednesday, the SDP said it would vote on Chega and IL’s proposals to set up a commission of inquiry into the disclosure of “secrets,” but announced that it “will not and has not taken” any initiative in this regard. .

The proposals from Chega and IL will be put to the vote on Friday, but their “leadership” is guaranteed by voting against the absolute majority of the PS. Until this Wednesday, the PSD has not ruled out holding a potestative (mandatory) investigation, which requires the signature of at least 46 MPs, being the only opposition party that can do so.

“The SDP will not and has not taken the initiative to propose a parliamentary commission of inquiry, but the SDP cannot approve of the government’s behavior and will not do so. Therefore, although this is not our option (…), we do not oppose and vote for these initiatives,” said the MP from the PSD Monica Kintela during the parliamentary debate.

The MP emphasized that in this way it would not be linked to the SDP vote, which “rules out the possibility of using this instrument of parliamentary inquiry”, initiatives that will also receive BE support and which PAN has promised not to make unfeasible. .

However, without a potestative initiative, there will be no parliamentary commission to investigate the disclosure of the “secret” on the withdrawal of a computer from the Ministry of Infrastructure.

Monica Quintela echoed the warning left by SDP President Luis Montenegro last week that the leadership and oversight of the Information System of the Republic (SIRP) would no longer have the “coverage” of the SDP, given that “neither the words nor the documents sent by the Prime Minister are informative.”

On the PS side, bench vice president Pedro Delgado Alves justified the no vote by saying that a parliamentary commission of inquiry would be “particularly inadequate” as it could jeopardize the operation of the services, bearing in mind that there were leaks of information even during hearings of regimental protocols responsible for SIRP and SIS.

The socialist recalled that the supervisory board of the SIRP will still be heard in parliament, and even admitted that “the conclusion that there were failures” in the provision of services can be drawn, given, on the contrary, that the “timeline” shows the adjustment of internal procedures in the Government.

“You can’t discount the seriousness if you come to the conclusion that there were supposedly functions that the services performed and that they should not have performed,” he said, but given that this does not mean “that all services perform poorly or are politically connected power.”

“But first of all, you can’t fix a mistake with another mistake,” he said, adding that the TOS will be available for discussion if the parties understand that it is necessary to revise the law on the supervision of “secrets”, although remembering that it has already been amended four times in the last twenty years.

On the side of the supporters, Chega President André Ventura defended that a parliamentary commission of inquiry “is required not for scrutiny or questions of legislation, but for misuse by a member of government” of information services.

“Don’t start talking to us, PS wants to protect Minister João Galamba, the Prime Minister, not a ‘secret’,” Ventura criticized, saying that if this investigation is undesirable, “it was the government’s persistence in lying and cheating.” which prompted Cheg to suggest it.

For IL, parliamentary leader Rodrigo Saraiva also acknowledged that a parliamentary inquiry into intelligence agencies would be “particularly sensitive and complex.”

“But in this semi-cycle, 230 Portuguese are elected to the legislature, but above all to ensure that the rights, freedoms and guarantees of citizens are protected by the legal framework at any time of the day,” he said, given the questions and inconsistencies. be refined “without any semantic tricks”.

BE MP Isabel Pires reiterated that “there was no legal basis” for the SIS’s actions on the night of 26 April, when a member of the SIS discovered the computer of former MP Frederico Piñero, emphasizing that the body “does not carry out police functions”. .

“We will be following initiatives that require full clarification on this case, if the PS wanted to avoid such an outcome, the only thing it could do is to clarify the country and parliament,” he said.

PKP deputy Alma Rivera agreed with the assessment of the “illegality of the actions of the SSS” in this case, but, without disclosing the direction of the vote, she dissociated herself from the initiatives of Chega and IL.

“The logical consequence, more appropriate and more useful, is to change the form of supervision of “secrets”, doing it directly from the Assembly of the Republic, as other parliaments do,” he said, recalling that the party had already submitted a draft law in this sense.

For PAN, sole deputy Ines Souza Real will not frustrate Chega and IL’s proposals, although he believes there may be duplication of authority as the Attorney General’s Office also announced that it was investigating the case.

Livre’s sole deputy, Rui Tavares, distinguished between Chega’s initiative, which he considered “politically oriented” and that of IL, although he doubted whether that party would make an effort to ensure that all political forces were represented, contrary to what happened in the poll TAP. , without PAN and Livre.