The appointment of the Union’s attorney general, , for a vacancy on the (Supreme Federal Court) is likely to strain the government’s relationship with the Senate, the main source of governance of () in this term so far.
The president of the House, (União Brasil-AP), and a portion of parliamentarians preferred that the senator (-MG) had been nominated. To interlocutors, after Lula’s decision was made official, Alcolumbre expressed dissatisfaction.
There was an expectation that the president would call to inform him before the news became public, which did not happen, according to Alcolumbre’s press office.
Hours after Messias’s appointment, the president of the Senate next week proposed a project with a potential impact of billions of reais on public accounts, on the special retirement of community health workers and agents fighting endemic diseases.
Alcolumbre has already indicated that he should not work to approve the name of the attorney general for the vacancy at the Supreme Court. Messiah, in turn, of the minister, nominated to the STF by Jair Bolsonaro.
The first member of the court to publicly congratulate him on his appointment, he said he will help the head of the (Advocacy General of the Union).
The wear and tear of the PT administration with the Senate especially affects the government leader in the House, (PT). Both because of the position he holds and because he has been friends with Lula for decades, Wagner is one of the main channels of communication between the Palácio do Planalto and the top brass of the House. He is also one of the biggest defenders of Messias’s appointment to the STF. The Union’s attorney general worked in his office in the past.
In addition to the disagreement over the nomination, Alcolumbre was uncomfortable with a speech given by Wagner to the press. The government leader explained that the president of the Senate, in , had shown a preference for Pacheco – and that the head of the federal government was decided on Messias.
Senators close to Alcolumbre report that he stopped answering calls from Wagner. THE Sheet He tried to contact the government leader and the president of the Senate, but received no response.
Lula’s preference for Messiah has been known in the political world for weeks, but it gained even more relevance on Monday (17). That day, the President of the Republic had a final conversation with Rodrigo Pacheco and, as revealed by columnist Mônica Bergamo, from Sheet.
On Tuesday, Alcolumbre. “You have to wait [a indicação para o STF chegar ao Senado]do what? If I could, I would nominate it,” he told reporters.
The tension between the government and the Senate caused by Messiah’s appointment could still increase. Bench leaders have shown, behind the scenes, a willingness to insist on Pacheco’s name. The former president of the Senate is the favorite name of the majority of the House, not just Alcolumbre.
Lula, in turn, does not give up on Messiah. He considers the choice to be a prerogative of the Presidency of the Republic that should not be subject to external pressure.
The nomination is up to Lula, but his chosen one will only assume the post of STF minister if there is approval from the Senate. First, it must be examined and approved by the CCJ (Constitution and Justice Commission). And then, at least 41 favorable votes are needed in the House plenary. The vote is secret.
The last time senators rejected the nomination of a President of the Republic to the court.
Last week, the close vote that senators gave in favor of reappointing him as Attorney General of the Republic was interpreted by politicians and STF ministers as a . Gonet had 45 votes, just 4 more than he needed. It has been since redemocratization, in the 1980s.
The assessment in the Senate is that Gonet, despite being liked by the majority of senators. The action to condemn former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) as leader of the coup plot that tried to prevent Lula’s presidency weighed against him.
Gonet was approved after a mobilization of House leaders. Alcolumbre was decisive in guaranteeing the minimum number of votes necessary for the PGR to obtain another two years in office, but indicated that he should not adopt the same conduct with Messias.
Despite this, the PT leader in the House minimized the score. “There was a strong group of opposition to him [Gonet] because he made the complaint to the former President of the Republic. In the case of Messiah, I don’t see him at odds with any segment here within the Senate”, stated Wagner.
‘New Dino’ and Republican support
In addition to the preference for Pacheco, the fear of senators that he will become one weighs against Messias, as some politicians say privately.
Dino was also Lula’s personal choice. Once in office, the minister began to make decisions that monitor parliamentary amendments and restrict their use. The attitude outraged senators and deputies, who see this mechanism as the main way to send public resources for works in their electoral bases.
The vacancy on the STF was opened after the now former minister. He could stay on the court until he was 75, but decided to leave the post at 67, after completing his term as president of the Court.
Messias’ nomination was celebrated by PT members, criticized by Bolsonarists, and defended by some members of the centrão.
“In the process of evaluating his name by the Federal Senate, Minister Messias will have the opportunity to prove his qualifications for the highest court in the country, demonstrated at the head of the AGU and throughout his career in the field of Law and Public Administration”, said Minister Gleisi Hoffmann (Institutional Relations).
The government leader in Congress, senator Randolfe Rodrigues (PT-AP), said that the nomination “reinforces the commitment to defending the Constitution, strengthening Democracy and the stability of Brazilian institutions”.
Representative Sóstenes Cavalcante (PL-RJ), leader of Jair Bolsonaro’s party in the Chamber, said that, if the Senate approves the AGU, “it will be another 30 years of a PT leftist, judging and delaying Brazil with his leftist values”.
“The fact of being an evangelical is not a shield: the Gospel preaches justice, not persecution and selectivity. STF demands independence, no more partisanship”, stated senator Jorge Seif (PL-SC).
The leader of the Republicans in the House, Mecias de Jesus (RR), in turn, said he defended Messias for his competence, solid training, and for being someone who preserves values with which he shares, such as the defense of the family and Christian principles. “His technical qualifications surpass ideological debates,” he stated.
