In comments to journalists at the Assembly of the Republic, Livre’s parliamentary leader, Isabel Mendes Lopes, welcomed the upcoming parliamentary debate on wildfires with the Prime Minister, emphasizing the importance of “analyzing what is happening” amidst reports of “discoordination on the ground, lack of resources, and even communities left to fight alone.”
“Added to this is a posture from the Government characterized by a lack of information, irregular communication, and even some detachment and lack of empathy,” she criticized.
The Livre parliamentary leader argued for rectifying “some of the issues that are not going well” on the ground, to prevent similar situations in the coming weeks, particularly in September, and ensure “better support for communities” and firefighting corporations.
Meanwhile, PCP’s parliamentary leader, Paula Santos, recalled that her party was among those requesting Luís Montenegro’s presence at a debate in the Permanent Commission of the Assembly of the Republic, accusing the executive of “avoiding central issues and not providing concrete answers” amid the “tragic wildfire situation.”
“In the face of a nation’s outrage at a Government that is not providing the necessary responses, it became unsustainable for the executive and they were indeed compelled to come to the Assembly of the Republic to provide clarifications,” stated Paula Santos, suggesting that the debate will confront the executive with necessary responses and support for affected populations and territories.
BE coordinator, Mariana Mortágua, has aimed to avoid government criticism during active wildfire battles but emphasized the necessity of a parliamentary debate, stating the executive has already “failed and the Prime Minister has shown a lack of competence, awareness, and empathy.”
The sole BE deputy attributed Montenegro’s failures to not “activating when necessary” the European Civil Protection Mechanism, lacking preparation and organization of firefighting resources “as needed,” and failing in awareness and empathy by believing he was above the “suffering and distress” of the communities.
Based on this assessment, Mariana Mortágua stated that BE supports a debate with the Prime Minister on the wildfires and will vote in favor of Juntos Pelo Povo’s (JPP) proposed inquiry commission on this matter.
The sole deputy also urged the executive to declare a state of emergency in all municipalities with a significant portion of their area burned during Thursday’s Council of Ministers.
In a statement, the JPP welcomed the announcement of the debate, arguing that the Government “owes explanations to the Portuguese people and the Assembly of the Republic must fulfill its scrutiny role.”
“Given a national tragedy consuming mainland Portugal, silence from the Assembly of the Republic would be unacceptable,” the JPP argued.
