Government failed: it failed to hire the “Cristiano Ronaldo of public administration”

Carlos Costa Neves will be the Secretary General of the Government. But the former minister is far from the level of the first choice: Hélder Rosalino.

The “soap opera” general secretary do Government has been in the news over the last few weeks.

Even as 2024 closed, the Government announced that it was chosen to lead the new entity resulting from the merger of three Government general secretariats.

But then a “detail” emerged: money. To receive more than 15 thousand eurosone , in a bit of a rush, on the part of the Government; more specifically the remuneration status of the directors of the general secretariat.

But, three days after the appointment, Hélder Rosalino said he would take the position.

So the Government missed the chance to hire “the Cristiano Ronaldo of public administration”of having a “single, unique figure” as “commander of the Government’s engine room, through which everything has to pass before decisions are made by each Ministry”.

The description is from the political expert, Vítor Matos, who regrets the moment in which the Government accused the Bank of Portugal for failing to hire Hélder Rosalino – Mário Centeno, bank governor, refused to pay salary of the new secretary general, just as the Government wanted.

“When a player goes to another club, he doesn’t stay at the previous club. If they want to sign a player, pay himthat’s not really a loan”, compares the journalist, on the radio.

Even so, remembers Vítor Matos, there have been two moments when the Bank of Portugal paid the salaries of members of the Government, in the times of Pedro Passos Coelho: Maria Luís Albuquerque (salary split) and Marta Abreu (bank paid everything).

Returning to the present, the Government “did very badly in this entire process”, continues the expert, who once again associates the case with football: “The cotton test that shows that Hélder Rosalino was not just the Ronaldo of the administration – he was more thing – that was when the Government did not look for any fantastic, exceptional player to take his place; went to look for a former PSD minister.”

The analyst talked about: “It’s quite respectable but I I didn’t see him as the Ronaldo of public administration“.

Vítor Matos stayed “surprised” with this choice that, he claims, “contradicts the argument about the talent of the first choice”.

Luís Marques Mendes also criticizes the Government in this process: “If the Government wanted to open a exception, should have assumed everything, with all the frontality and all the clarity, it should have been made public to justify”.

“Why didn’t you do it? I don’t know, but I think it was bad. The worst thing in politics is being in the middle of the bridge. There was the idea of ​​wanting to make a tailored suit, somewhat hidden”, continued the political commentator, on .

Hélder Rosalino did “very well” in giving up his position, argues Marques Mendes.