No press conference following the Council of Ministers meeting, António Leitão Amaro was asked if the Government prefers Chega on these matters, after the PSD rejected the PS’s suggestion for the bills to go to a specialty discussion without a general vote, scheduled for Friday.
The minister declined to comment on negotiations publicly, emphasizing that it is in the specialty phase where “bridges and compromises” can be established.
“These coming days, in tomorrow’s debate, and what follows in the specialty, will test each party, and each of the major parties with parliamentary seats. Do they want to preserve what remains of a period of facilitation, or do they want to contribute to a policy change that has been underway since last year?” he questioned.
For the Minister of the Presidency, it was the previous Government’s decision (the first led by Luís Montenegro) to end the manifestation of interest as an entry route for immigrants that initiated a new phase of immigration policy, which he believed had the support of most Portuguese people.
“The position they take at the end, whether to enable or not, with a favorable vote or abstention, will show where each of these parties stands. Do they want to prevent us from leaving the period of facilitation, or do they want to join the Government in this policy change, which has that balance we’ve been discussing, between regulation and humanism, moderation?” he questioned.
Leitão Amaro expressed his belief that “the country supports the Government’s proposal to regulate immigration more, to create a border police, to regulate migratory flows.”
“We believe this is what the country needs and what the Portuguese want,” he emphasized.
