The government will announce the next governor of the Bank of Portugal this Thursday, confirmed Prime Minister Luís Montenegro on Sunday.
“We will make a decision on Thursday and announce it to the country,” he told journalists alongside Miguel Albuquerque, upon arriving at Herdade do Chão da Lagoa in Madeira, where he will participate in the PSD/Madeira event.
Without revealing names, Luís Montenegro only mentioned that the profile of the governor of the Bank of Portugal “does not change over time.” “It remains the same; it must be – and is – a competent person, someone who ensures the fulfillment of a central bank’s functions within the European architecture defined today,” he stated.
“In Thursday’s Council of Ministers, we will announce our decision,” reiterated the head of the Executive.
Note that Mário Centeno’s term ends this Sunday, and a decision regarding his successor was expected in the week that just ended, but after the last Council of Ministers meeting, the Finance Minister had already postponed a decision to next week.
The Presidency Minister, António Leitão Amaro, also present at the conference, addressed the issue, noting that he understands the “anxiety,” but “the Portuguese are much more anxious to know that pensioners will have an income increase.”
Mário Centeno has expressed his willingness to continue for another term at the central bank’s helm, but everything points to the former Finance Minister not being reappointed, especially after several tense moments with the government.
The name of the next governor is proposed by the government but must then go through a hearing in the Assembly of the Republic, with parliamentary committees only operating until next Friday, July 25, before going on summer recess.
In Madeira, Luís Montenegro was also questioned about his stance on the President of the Republic’s position regarding the nationality law, merely responding that Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will “make an assessment, a reflection which is both political and legal, and will exercise the powers conferred by the Constitution.”
[News in update]
