In a statement to journalists in parliament, André Ventura praised the “academic and technical independence” of Santos Pereira and his resume but lamented that PSD and CDS-PP continue to make choices within the range of former ministers or secretaries of state from the two parties.
“It will take a while for PSD and CDS-PP to get out of the habit of this constant game of appointing their own party members. But it ends up being the lesser evil compared to keeping someone who clearly had no independence, which was a bad legacy from the PS, and this nomination,” he emphasized.
The leader of Chega stated that he communicated to the Prime Minister — during their last meeting in São Bento — his opposition to the reappointment of Mário Centeno, but noted that he “did not suggest any names” for this or any other position, without directly answering whether Luís Montenegro informed him in advance of the choice of Álvaro Santos Pereira.
“I will not mention whether or not there was contact regarding this matter. I guarantee there was not a single suggestion of names from Chega for the position; it is the Government who governs, and we only sought objectivity, independence, and competence,” he said.
Ventura particularly welcomed the non-reappointment of Mário Centeno to the Bank of Portugal, a stance he had previously expressed publicly.
“It was a mistake to retain someone who had gone from socialist minister to socialist governor, as it fostered a culture of favoritism and entrenched state figures with party cards in an institution that should be independent,” he said.
On Santos Pereira, while acknowledging that he is “someone who thinks for himself and has often been able to think independently,” the Chega leader expressed disagreement with the recent stance of the outgoing chief economist of the OECD that Portugal needs more immigration.
“But, since Álvaro Pereira will not govern matters of border control or administrative or police decisions, Chega did not impose a red line preventing this appointment,” he stated.
Ventura reiterated his desire for “the Government to be able to appoint individuals distant” from its political-partisan sphere.
“It’s not about appointing people with the party card of PSD or Chega or PS and thus occupy positions. It’s about appointing people who are competent and thus reach these positions,” he said, predicting that “it will still take some time for PSD to understand this.”
The Government’s decision was announced by the Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, during a press conference, following the Council of Ministers meeting.
Álvaro Santos Pereira served as Minister of Economy and Employment from 2011 to 2013 under the government of Pedro Passos Coelho (PSD/CDS-PP) and has until now served as the chief economist of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
