“The Socialist Party will not vote against the Prime Minister’s appearance in parliament,” said Eurico Brilhante Dias, following two days after PS Secretary-General José Luís Carneiro criticized the timing of the permanent commission meeting and declared that his party would vote against it.
Brilhante Dias addressed journalists in parliament at the conclusion of the leaders’ conference, which unanimously decided to schedule a debate with the Prime Minister on the wildfires for Wednesday.
“The PS Parliamentary Group clearly informed the Government that this permanent commission was premature, stating that all the material conditions for the Government to be effective in combating the fires were already in place, and that PS deputies were dispersed across the territory monitoring the populations, firefighters, and local authorities playing a crucial role,” stated Eurico Brilhante Dias.
On Tuesday, PS Secretary-General José Luís Carneiro stated that the Socialists would vote against the requests presented by the Chega and PCP benches for a permanent committee meeting in parliament on forest fires, as it was “against political posturing” and came at a time when efforts should focus on coordinating firefighting efforts.
This statement was made after the Prime Minister expressed his willingness to answer to both the nation and parliament.
The PS parliamentary leader insisted there was no change of position, asserting that “the PS will not, under any circumstances, vote against a Government member attending parliament.”
“If the Government wants to come to parliament, it will not be the PS parliamentary group that votes against the Government’s wish to do so. We still believe that this Government’s intent is premature, does not aid in clarification, and moreover, does not exempt the Prime Minister from the political responsibilities he has from his detachment from this matter, nor the future political accountabilities he must address in the Assembly of the Republic,” he emphasized.
“We also stated that it was up to the majority, the PSD and CDS, to decide whether or not to support this permanent commission, given that the Government indicated within the permanent commission that it could affect the effectiveness of the firefighting efforts,” noted the Socialist, accusing these parties of repositioning.
Brilhante Dias also accused Chega of giving “a hand to the Government,” allowing the executive to “divert attention” because, instead of discussing “firefighting efforts and aid to populations on a day when another Portuguese citizen died,” the focus is on “the nature of the permanent commission.”
The PS deputy further stated, reiterating the secretary-general’s earlier remarks, that the party would “submit a bill to parliament this week for the creation of an independent technical commission to evaluate all that has gone wrong in firefighting operations.”
Brilhante Dias explained that the goal is to conduct a “detailed analysis of the circumstances, whether there has been momentary coordination failures, the delay in requesting support from the European Civil Protection Mechanism, and the delay in defining what constitutes a state of calamity or a calamity situation.”
[Updated news at 17:44]
