BE, PCP and Livre stress that Marcelo limited himself to respecting the “democratic legitimacy” of the Assembly of the Republic.

BE, PCP and Livre stressed on Tuesday that the President of the Republic, when publishing the parliamentary diplomas, some of which were approved by the opposition, limited himself to respecting the “democratic legitimacy” of the Assembly of the Republic, while PAN called for dialogue.

“The President of the Republic has just handed out several diplomas that have essentially been approved by the Assembly of the Republic. This is a good sign, it is a sign of respect for the democratic legitimacy of the Assembly of the Republic,” said BE MP Marisa Matias in a statement to journalists at the Assembly of the Republic.

On Tuesday, the President of the Republic announced seven parliamentary decrees on the IRS, including rate reductions, VAT on electricity and the abolition of tolls, five of which were approved by the opposition, while the PSD and CDS-PP voted against.

According to the BE deputy, who has already announced that she will vote against the state budget for 2025, “since these laws have neither constitutional nor unconstitutional aspects, the president only did what he had to do, namely, promulgated the laws that were approved by the Assembly of the Republic.”

Marisa Matias insisted that, according to BE, “of the measures already presented”, the budget proposal that will be presented by the minority executive is a document that “the left cannot follow” because it is an executive that “governs for the rich”.

In the same vein, the parliamentary leader of the PCP, Paula Santos, stated that “the President of the Republic has promulgated a series of diplomas that have been approved by the Assembly of the Republic as a result of the legislative process that took place in the Assembly of the Republic and which also takes into account the competence of the Assembly of the Republic itself.”

“The truth is that with or without a state budget, the President of the Republic had no reason not to publish these diplomas that came out and were the result of debates in the Assembly of the Republic,” the communist believed.

Regarding the proposed 2025 state budget, which will be presented in October, Paula Santos said the PCP has “no illusions” about what the executive’s options will be, criticizing the government for “benefiting large interests and economic groups” while “salaries, pensions, utilities, housing will remain unanswered.”

Livre MP Jorge Pinto said that what was at stake was not “victories or defeats”, but rather “the recognition of what is, because it cannot be otherwise, a new parliamentary dynamic”, with a “more fragmented” hemicycle and without an “absolute majority”, where “dialogue is an integral part”.

Jorge Pinto said he understood that the head of state “wants stability in government,” but stressed that “the parties must fulfill this responsibility” through “frank dialogue.”

“The decision of the President of the Republic is fully in line with what Portuguese parliamentarism should be, based on parliamentary debate and on the basis of a parliamentary majority that can be formed,” he added.

PAN MP Ines Souza Real believes that this disclosure is intended to “release some of the pressure around the debate on the state budget”, but also gives “a signal to Luis Montenegro that there is a parliamentary majority and mathematics that must be respected.”

Sousa Real considered the release a positive but insufficient sign, warning that the government must “accept the will of this parliamentary majority” and that “there is still a long way to go before the budget.”