“Clearly [Aguiar-Branco] is afraid of Chega, and that is a problem because those who are afraid cannot manage the work of a parliament. And Aguiar Branco, in fact, does not have those capabilities, I’m sorry to say, I regret it, but it’s what everyone can see and it must be said,” stated the spokesperson of Livre, on the sidelines of the launch of the PS, Livre, BE, and PAN coalition candidacy for the Lisbon City Council, led by socialist Alexandra Leitão.
The issue stems from an incident on Thursday during the state of the nation debate, which led PS deputy Pedro Delgado Alves to express shame over the parliament’s president, accusing him of “double standards.”
This comment arose after Aguiar-Branco did not reprimand the leader of Chega when he claimed the PS has a “weak opposition,” yet did so when the socialist leader, José Luís Carneiro, called André Ventura a “braggart.”
Questioned about this episode, Rui Tavares stated that “the main problem with Aguiar Branco is his inability to understand that a president of the Assembly of the Republic should be guided by parliamentarianism,” which “is not the will of the majority.”
The leader of Livre reiterated some of the complaints his party has publicly expressed, particularly concerning speaking times in plenary sessions and the seating arrangement of their seats in the chamber.
“And Aguiar Branco always says ‘but it’s the majority, the majority voted this way.’ Frankly, a president of the Assembly of the Republic must understand that parliamentarianism is not always the majority,” he emphasized.
Criticizing the “arrogance of the majority,” Tavares argued that Aguiar Branco “does not properly balance the rights of the various political groups.”
