Parliament lit up in LGBTQ+ colors with PSD doubts and against Chega’s wishes

Date:

Share post:

The facade of the Assembly of the Republic was lit up with the colors of the LGBTQ+ flag after PSD raised doubts about the legal basis of this type of initiative. Chega was “totally” opposed.

The facade of the Assembly of the Republic was lit up with the colors of the LGBTQ+ flag after PSD raised doubts about the legal basis of this type of initiative. Chega was “totally” opposed.

The facade of the Assembly of the Republic was lit up with the colors of the LGBTQ+ flag after PSD raised doubts about the legal basis of this type of initiative. Chega was “totally” opposed.

The president of Chega, according to the minutes of the meeting, “expressed total opposition”, but the PSD also raised doubts. For the social democrats, represented at the meeting by deputy Catarina Rocha Ferreira, ” more reflection is needed to understand the legal or regulatory basis of these initiatives”. The president of the Assembly of the Republic admits that “there is no framework support” and therefore suggested that instead of raising the flag, the Parliament should light up the façade as it did to mark one year of the invasion of Ukraine.

Among the parties seated at the table, the PS and the Left Bloc were the only ones to manifest themselves “in favor of the initiative”, with the Liberal Initiative not raising any questions and considering that “it is up to the president of the Assembly to decide with common sense”.

On the night of Tuesday, André Ventura again manifested, this time publicly, against the initiative by saying that “there is only one flag that represents all Portuguese, heterosexual or homosexual: the flag of Portugal”. Already during this Wednesday, the parliamentary group of the PS and also the leader of the Left Bloc, Catarina Martins posted publications to mark this day, as well as the president of the Assembly of the Republic.

Regular use of flags has to be approved by Parliament
In the absence of a “framework support” for the use of flags on an occasional basis – whether in solidarity with a country or to mark a particular day – the frequent use of flags other than the national flag and the flags of the Assembly of the Republic has to be discussed by the deputies.

Recently, the Portuguese Parliament approved a project that foresees the use of the European Union flag in Parliament, in an initiative that counted with the PCP’s votes against and the abstention of the Left Bloc. Chega was absent from that vote.

The project presented by the President of the Assembly of the Republic aimed to “affirm the principles that are at the origin of the European project and that remain current and, likewise, emphasizing the importance of citizen participation in the European Union, the Assembly of the Republic considers it appropriate to approve its own rules on the use of the European Union flag, similar to what happens in other national parliaments.

The project determines that the flag of the European Union is preceded by the National Flag, but has priority over the flag of the Assembly of the Republic, being determined the places and days in which this flag should be raised. On September 14, 2022, Santos Silva hoisted the European Union flag for the first time at São Bento Palace, in a ceremony attended by the Minister of State and Parliamentary Affairs, Ana Catarina Mendes, and the Secretary of State for European Affairs, Tiago Antunes.

Related articles

Price rises accelerate to 2.3% from February to March

The inflation rate will have been 2.3% in March, 0.2 percentage points more than in February, according to...

Oeiras marks 50 years since April 25 with concert by Pedro Abrunhosa, exhibitions and debates

Oeiras Town Hall will mark the 50th anniversary of April 25 with a concert by Pedro Abrunhosa, exhibitions,...

Saramago’s “The Night” on stage at the Estoril Academy of Arts

José Saramago's play "The Night", written in 1979 and set during the night of April 24-25, 1974, will...

DGArtes competition for programming projects supports 72 applications with 1.85ME

The Directorate-General for the Arts (DGArtes) will support 72 applications, in the competition to support projects in the...