Manuel de Almeida / Lusa
The Secretary General of the Socialist Party (PS), Pedro Nuno Santos
The socialist leader guarantees that the PS will vote against the motion of trust and explained the presentation of the inquiry committee, considering that the suspicions about Montenegro are “serious”.
In an interview with SIC Notícias, Pedro Nuno Santos described the government’s confidence motion as “a cowardly resignation request“Since Luís Montenegro already knows that he is condemned to lead and that the executive will fall, and has accused the prime minister again to want to go to elections to escape the scrutiny.
Confronted by journalist Clara de Sousa about the possibility of reconsidering lead and let the government continue To respond to the inquiry committee – and he could then present a motion of censorship if he did not consider that Montenegro clarified everything – the socialist leader refuses.
“We have already warned and repeated in the last two debates that the PS would vote against a motion of trust. He already knew beforehand the position of the PS when he presented it, ”said Pedro Nuno, adding he will be consistent and cannot retreat after he had already said a year ago that he would always vote against a government confidence motion.
The PS secretary-general also recalls that ministers were previously heard that the government would not advance to a motion of trust if a second motion of censorship was squeezed-as was the case with the PCP.
Pedro Nuno also says he knows cases of services of services similar to those of Spinumviva at prices of about 1500 euros per year – A value far below the monthly agreement of 4500 euros that the company of the family of Montenegro received from Solverde until recently.
“As suspicions are seriouswe can have a prime minister who is neither free nor has autonomy with some entrepreneurs, ”says Pedro Nuno Santos, reinforcing that it is necessary to understand if Spinumviva really provided these services and if prices reflected fair values of the market.
The opposition leader mentioned even more suspicions around the prime minister’s business. “We still have known a work of restructuring a small company, for 214,000 euros, hired a lawyer, Luís Montenegro, who Has no experience in companies restructuring. The prime minister has not given cabal clarifications, ”he says.
Asked why the PS did not decide to present written questions rather than advancing with the inquiry committee, the opposition leader listed several powers that the CPI has to go beyond mere questions, such as access to “working hours, emails, interactions” that may prove that Spinumviva has truly rendered the services it alleges.
“Right now There is no written or oral answer anymore that solves the suspicion. It is only resolved if we can have access to the tests, the documents that prove that the work was done and that the price paid is the fair price, ”he argues.
Already on the usefulness of persisting with the Inquiry Committee in the next legislature, especially in the event that AD wins the elections, Pedro Nuno Santos is peremptory: “The search for the truth It is not exhausted with the elections“.
“It is noted that in 50 years of democracy there has never been a CPI to a prime minister in office,” said Clara de Sousa, emphasizing the creation of a precedent new, to which Pedro Nuno Santos replied: “I’m in politics now”.
Already confronted about whether it can ensure that the PS will maintain the same strategy in the possibility of a bad electoral result dictating the change of leader, the secretary general guarantees that the party is not focused on this scenario.
“I’m a PS leader today. The prime minister wants to drag the country to some elections. The PS is preparing for this and to win the elections. We only work in this scenario, we don’t work in another, ”he said.
If Montenegro quoted Francisco Sá Carneiro in the debate of the censorship motion, Pedro Nuno Santos did not want to stay behind, inspired by the historical leader of the PSD. “Poly without risk is a boring, but without ethics is a shame,” he has ended, regarding the risk that the PS runs when going to elections when the polls so far point to a similar electoral scenario with the current one.
“Clara de Sousa receives PSD boundaries?”
On social networks, Clara de Sousa’s stance in the interview is giving to talk, with many critics to point out the bias of the journalist at SIC and even compare her combative conduct to Manuela Moura Guedes.
“Clara de Sousa Do you also receive PSD boundaries? For this interview it seems that it works for them, ”he considers an X (former Twitter) user. “The first debate for legislatures is now giving SIC. Clara de Sousa (PSD/SIC coalition) against Pedro Nuno Santos (PS) ”, joked another.
There were also those who mentioned the connection of Francisco Pinto Balsemão to SIC: “Clara de Sousa Neither let PNS answer. Beautiful form of Balstão TV PNS Condition ”.
“Who saw Clara de Sousa as an acolite in weekly homilies with Marques Mendes and compares with the aggressiveness of this interview to the PNS really finds great differences ”, pointed out another user.
There were also comparisons between Clara de Sousa and Sandra Felgueiras, who interviewed Montenegro at TVI: “Sandra Felgueiras begins the interview with Montenegro very differently from Clara de Sousa. Much more professional“.
However, there were also those who defend the pivot. “Both Clara de Sousa and Sandra Felgueiras did good work today, the staff discredits journalists in Portugal a lot,” says one user.
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