With three judges finishing the mandate, Montenegro will have to decide between making a agreement with arrival or, alternatively, with IL or free. The approval of the judges requires a two -thirds majority in Parliament.
Luís Montenegro is about to have a rare window to reinforce influence in the Constitutional Court (TC). Three of the 13 judges are at the end of the term and will be, from this Sunday, beyond the single term of nine years provided for in the Constitution: José Teles Pereira (nominated by the PSD), Vice President Gonçalo Almeida Ribeiro and Joana Costa. The situation already constitutes a violation of the constitutional rule of the duration of the mandate.
The dossier is politically sensitive. 10 of the 13 judges of the TC are elected by the Assembly of the Republic and require a qualified two -thirds majority (154 votes). For the first time since 1976, PSD and PS together do not reach this level, being indispensable an understanding with the arrival or, alternatively, with the liberal initiative (IL) or the free, refers.
The government is still evaluating potential alliances before committing itself, but the PS has already warned that regime matters require bipartisan agreement. Montenegro, however, has kept “all options open”, including conversations with the arrival. At a conference this week, they equipped PS and arrives as “future government alternatives ”, Signal interpreted as an opening to negotiate places, even though André Ventura publicly say he is disinterested in positions.
The succession can extend: TC President José João Abrantes (appointed by the PS) ends his term in August; It is not usual to remain after leaving the presidency, so its Exit by the end of the year is likely. There is still the unknown around Mariana Canotilho, candidate for the Court of Auditors; Even if it wins, it may suspend the placement and complete the term in TC (until 2028).
If the package includes Abrantes, two vacancies of the PSD and two from PS will be concerned. Here the interrogations emerge: Montenegro can “give in” a place at arrival or close agreement with IL or free, preserving the historical logic of division between the two great parties. In October, the magistrate Maria João Vaz Tomé (Supreme) failed the election, obtaining only 74 votes, away from two thirds.
The indefinition is repeated in other positions subject to the same bar: the provider of justice continues to designate; Also the Council of State is awaiting multiparty understanding.
Conversations about the judges should CROSS with the negotiation of the budget of the state and with the autarchic cycle. In a TC where, in recent years, the weight of right -wing magistrates has grown, the next vacancy could influence future judgments on controversial issues such as foreigners and nationality, which the president has already admitted to send for preventive inspection.
