During a conference organized by the newspaper ECO on Tuesday, the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party (PS), Pedro Nuno Santos, reiterated that “nothing has changed” regarding the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) into the case involving the family business of Luís Montenegro. Therefore, the initiative to proceed with a CPI “remains intact”.
“The Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry was announced by us because Luís Montenegro was not providing answers; nothing has changed so far. It is useful for all of us to understand exactly who is leading the country. I was not trying to pressure anyone; I was just responding to a question that was presented to me. If nothing changes, our intention remains“, clarified Pedro Nuno Santos on Wednesday, after a meeting with the executive committee of the Portuguese Business Confederation (CIP).
In March, the leader of the PS announced the establishment of a potestative parliamentary commission of inquiry into the case involving Luís Montenegro’s family business.
In response to the Prime Minister’s comments accusing Pedro Nuno of not fulfilling his duties as a minister, the PS leader expressed uncertainty about “what Luís Montenegro is referring to”.
“The houses delivered by him and the Minister of Infrastructure were handed over due to a program launched by me. The companies under my supervision were chronically in deficit. For instance, CP had never turned a profit in its history, and we successfully made them profitable companies, so they are no longer a burden on the Portuguese state. We are still undertaking the biggest revolution in the national railway,” emphasized the Secretary-General of the PS.
Regarding the Constitutional Court’s declaration that some aspects of the euthanasia law are unconstitutional, Pedro Nuno stated that the problematic provisions are “easily surmountable”.
“We will address this matter after the 18th of May,” he added.
The Constitutional Court, it should be recalled, declared several provisions of the law regulating medically assisted death as unconstitutional on Tuesday but noted that most of the legislation complies with the fundamental law.
In a statement, the court declared six provisions unconstitutional, responding to two successive requests for assessment: one from a group of PSD MPs and another from the Ombudsman.
The ruling was voted on by all the judges of the Constitutional Court, although 12 of them expressed partial dissent to some clauses or articles. Only the President of the Constitutional Court, José João Arantes, voted in favor of the text without objections.
José João Arantes considers that the practice of euthanasia must be controlled with strict and extreme diligence, given that it involves an irreversible decision made by individuals in a state of great vulnerability, reiterating the unconstitutionality identified by the Constitutional Court in the recently approved parliamentary legislation.
