The Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, declined to comment on Wednesday about reports suggesting that the Minister of Health, Ana Paula Martins, expressed a desire to step down, describing them as “speculations that begin and end in newspapers.”
“I will speak about decisions and transformations in Health. I will not speak about speculations that begin and end, legitimately and freely, in newspapers. I will not,” he stated at a press conference following the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers.
“They exist: They start and end in newsrooms, in political commentary… We fully respect freedom, but they exist neither in the Government nor in the concerns of the people,” he added, emphasizing that Ana Paula Martins “will continue to perform her Herculean work” in the sector.
When asked if the entire Government stands in solidarity with the minister, as Paulo Rangel affirmed on Wednesday, Leitão Amaro responded affirmatively.
“Everyone in the Government knows this: if there is anyone in the Government who inherited a heavy legacy and who has done, and must do, and will continue to do a Herculean job to solve a dramatic problem left in the National Health Service, if there is anyone with that heavy burden but the capability, the confidence to solve it, it is surely the Minister of Health Ana Paula Martins,” he said.
The Minister of the Presidency considered that persistent questions about a possible governmental reshuffle are part of a “media exercise, of speculation, that begins and ends there,” arguing that the Portuguese people expect “concrete measures” from the Government.
“And leave the media speculation where it is, and will stay. Like foam it is, it will pass, and it will burst, and it will disappear in a short time,” he predicted.
The issue stems from a report on Tuesday by Expresso, indicating that Ana Paula Martins had already expressed her intention to leave the Executive to the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro.
According to the weekly, the decision now rests with the head of Government and “should only be signed at the end of the year, after some of the essential decrees are assured.”
The president of a Health union also revealed that the minister allegedly said that her “fate was sealed” and that she would be “replaced.” When asked, the ministry said only: “The Ministry of Health will not respond.”
It should be noted that since assuming office in 2024, the Minister of Health has been involved in various controversies, ranging from the management of the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM) to the closure of emergency obstetrics and gynecology services and childbirths in ambulances.
The most recent case involves the death of a 38-week pregnant woman after a routine consultation at the Hospital Doutor Fernando Fonseca, known as Amadora-Sintra, last week. The baby, born from an emergency C-section, died on Saturday morning, one day after the mother’s death.
On the day of the pregnant woman’s death, the minister was heard in Parliament but refused to resign.
Asked by Chega deputy Marta Silva about the case and reminded that Marta Temido, the Health Minister under António Costa, resigned following a similar case, the minister replied: “No, I will not resign”.
From the management of INEM to the closure of emergency services and childbirths in ambulances, recount the decisions, cases, and scandals that have kept Ana Paula Martins under fire. The contestation grows, and criticisms multiply, but that does not seem to shake the Government’s confidence in the head of the Health department.
Tomásia Sousa | 09:56 – 04/11/2025
[Updated at 17:04]
