During the debate on the XXV Constitutional Government’s program, which continues until Tuesday in the Assembly of the Republic, Livre spokesperson Rui Tavares accused Luís Montenegro of arrogance for including 80 opposition measures in the document without discussing them with the parties beforehand.
Stating that “consensus must be sought, not imposed, especially without consulting the interlocutors,” Rui Tavares noted that Luís Montenegro “has the opportunity to govern in accordance with the best practices” of the European Union.
“Either we have, as we criticized in the past, governments that consider the Government’s program to be merely the electoral program of the party supporting that Government, merely changing the cover, – and we criticized it when António Costa was in that place, – or we have Governments that genuinely seek the responsibility of parliamentarianism,” he maintained.
Rui Tavares considered that the XXV Constitutional Government’s Program “brings the worst of both worlds,” accusing the executive of having a document that “does not correspond to what it presented to the Portuguese people, as well as not having been discussed with other parties despite including measures from them.”
Tavares requested from Montenegro a “model of good governance that is participatory and dialogued” rather than “a model of tactical maneuvering, giving a little to IL for the wealthy, much to Chega for social media, and harnessing the PS.”
“This country needs an opposition that faces difficult tasks. But looking at the PS governments this century, I have the impression that your arrogance makes our work much too easy,” he concluded.
Luís Montenegro rejected the charge of arrogance, describing it as excessive, and responded with irony.
“Honestly, I thought it was unnecessary to ask political parties if they agreed with their own proposals, but I’ll take note that you appreciate our meetings,” he quipped.
Viewing the inclusion of the measures as a gesture of respect to the opposition, Montenegro highlighted that the current political-constitutional system does not permit the executive to open negotiations with the opposition about the Government’s program before it is presented to parliament.
The implementation of the program itself over the coming years, he noted, is a different matter.
During his remarks, Rui Tavares mentioned the absence of PSD parliamentary leader Hugo Soares in the parliament chamber at that moment.
Subsequently, at the end of the Prime Minister’s response to the PCP, the PSD parliamentary leader took the opportunity to explain that his absence was due to the concurrent voting for the Assembly of the Republic’s Board.
The Livre spokesperson again requested the floor, prompting the President of the Assembly of the Republic to make a general appeal for deputies to “interpret the rules more loyally” and to use procedural inquiries more “rigorously” to ensure “there is no subversion of the use of procedural figures for purposes other than those intended.”
José Pedro Aguiar-Branco also stated he is “considering meeting individually with parliamentary leaders to raise awareness of this issue,” given that “there are many new deputies and it would be beneficial for them to have these guidelines for the correct reading of the rules.”
