The president () ordered assistants to work to buy time until he can personally secure the support of parliamentarians for , nominated for the STF (Supreme Federal Court).
The PT member decided to reinforce political articulation in defense of the name of Messiah, in the face of resistance from the president of the Senate, .
On Monday (1st), Lula had lunch with Weverton Rocha (PDT-MA), rapporteur for Messias’ nomination and close to Alcolumbre. The idea is for the PT member to promote new conversations with members of the Senate, giving priority in the first contacts to the MDB and MDB benches.
The main tool that Planalto has at hand to give the president the time he requested is the documentation that formally begins the process of analyzing Messiah’s name for the .
Lula’s allies say that the processing of the nomination — including the hearing at the CCJ (Constitution and Justice Commission — can only begin when the paperwork is formally submitted. And they already admit that the government will make a political assessment on the best time to forward it to the Legislature.
Alcolumbre has already suggested to interlocutors that he can continue the analysis of Messias even without formalizing the documents. In the opinion of Lula’s advisors, the senator will be exceeding his duties if he follows this path.
Lula’s perception that his entry into the joint was indispensable was reinforced after a note released by Alcolumbre at the weekend.
The content of the text displeased the PT member by attributing to the government the spread of rumors that the senator would be willing to support Messias in exchange for second-tier positions. According to reports, Lula considered the reaction of the president of the Senate, with whom he claimed to have a harmonious relationship, to be unjustified.
The tone of the note caused Lula, who has a habit of not acting under pressure, to postpone a long-awaited meeting between the two.
In conversations on the topic, the PT member remembers having spoken directly with the president of the Senate about his choice and looking for the senator (PSD-MG), who was passed over for the Supreme Court, as had been agreed.
Lula has also reaffirmed that the nomination is a prerogative of the President of the Republic.
Despite being upset, he recommended that his ministers not speak publicly about the case so as not to give arguments against his nominee.
Thanks to Lula’s intervention and direct action from Messias, negotiations have advanced. But there is still no certainty of victory in plenary.
The relationship between Lula and Alcolumbre was because the senator wanted the head of government for the open position on the court. To avoid rejecting the name of Messiah, government officials have tried to postpone the deliberation.
This movement was the main motivator for the note, released on Sunday (30), in which Alcolumbre —called a message.
The way to postpone the hearing that the nominee needs to undergo to take up a seat on the STF would be precisely to delay the . Alcolumbre said that this possibility “seems to seek to unduly interfere with the schedule established by the House, the exclusive prerogative of the Federal Senate.”
Lula demonstrated to his allies that he was surprised by the Senate president’s reaction, which he believes was exaggerated. The PT member believes that he has fulfilled the necessary political rites to maintain a good relationship with Alcolumbre.
The parliamentarian has said behind the scenes that he will comply with the announced schedule with or without a message from the Executive — unnecessary, in his understanding, since the name of the nominee has already been published in the Official Gazette of the Union.
The problem is that influential senators and Supreme Court ministers have been against this idea, arguing that the message is essential. Still, Alcolumbre called colleagues on Monday and reaffirmed that the planning is maintained.
STF ministers are chosen by the President of the Republic, but the nominees only assume the position if they have the support of at least 41 of the 81 senators. The last time a nominee was rejected was .
Influential sectors of the Senate advocate negotiations to lower the political temperature. Furthermore, STF ministers have asked for a vote in favor of Messias and called for more calm around the issue.
One of those who have acted most intensely is . THE Sheet found that the minister sought, in recent days, senators from the . Also part of this effort is André Mendonça, who was nominated by () and has a good track record in opposition to the Lula government.
One of the main actors in the attempt to rebuild the relationship between the President of the Republic and Alcolumbre is the government leader in Congress, (PT-AP). He is an ally of the Senate president in local politics. It occupies a space that would normally belong to the government leader in the Senate, (PT-BA), with whom Alcolumbre broke.
