“It is essential to know how it will be organized, how it will function, because it is a four-year government and it is important to hear about their planning from the government’s side,” stated Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, responding to journalists at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon.
The head of state declined to comment on the actions of Ana Paula Martins and advised “waiting to see” what the minister says.
When asked if he was not more demanding with other health ministers in the past, he countered that he maintained “even public support” for previous officeholders, citing Adalberto Campos Fernandes as an example.
“I remember, for example, a socialist minister, right at the beginning, who was facing many, many criticisms, later came to be replaced, but I thought it was important to see and give him time to prove whether he had means to achieve a certain policy,” he remarked.
Questioned about the problems in medical emergencies, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa reiterated the message that “it is important to see what the minister says about what will happen in the coming months and years.”
“It is very important to know exactly how the National Health Service will function, with what means, with what organization, with what leadership, and with what capacity to solve these various problems, these and others,” he added.
