The president of , (União-AP), retreated from the date of the (Supreme Federal Court), in an attempt to regain control over the process.
Until a few days ago, Alcolumbre wanted to move forward with the evaluation of the candidate to the STF to make the nomination official, but he did not have enough support in the House and backed away from the idea.
Ministers are appointed by the President of the Republic, but only take office after hearing and approval by the Senate. The favorable vote of at least 41 of the 81 parliamentarians in the House is required.
The date announced by Alcolumbre before the government sent the paperwork gave the power to maintain or cancel the hearing at its convenience. As the nominee is resisted by senators, the President of the Republic could if he realized that there would not be enough support to approve his chosen one.
The predominant assessment in the Senate is that, with the cancellation, the game is reset. The processing of Messias still depends on Lula sending the message with the necessary documents, but Alcolumbre will be able to schedule the hearing at his own time, without the pressure of having a previously announced date.
Furthermore, the president of the Senate gained speech and support among allies to postpone the hearing after sending the message, if he deems it necessary. As the cancellation was due to a lack of government action, Alcolumbre will be protected from criticism for any delay.
A Sheet found that the president of the Senate even told his plenary colleagues this Tuesday, in a joking tone, that he would only hold the hearing in November of next year – after the election in which Lula may or may not be chosen for a new term at the head of Planalto.
Allies close to Alcolumbre, however, think it is unlikely that he will postpone the hearing for months after the message with Messias’ documents reaches the Senate.
The postponement comes after Alcolumbre spent days saying, behind the scenes, that he would carry out the hearing even without sending the message. The politician assessed that the publication of Messias’ name in the Official Gazette of the Union by the federal government was enough to move the process forward.
The rapporteur for Messias’ nomination, senator Weverton Rocha (PDT-MA), told journalists on Tuesday that Alcolumbre considered publishing a notification to the nominee in the Official Gazette so that he himself could present the necessary documents.
Allies of the President of the Senate and even senators opposing Lula, however, did not want this to be done. They assessed that the act would go against the rules of the House. Furthermore, Alcolumbre was advised by politicians outside the Senate to avoid further tension.
The last time a Supreme Court nominee was rejected by the Senate was . If Messias is blocked, as there was a risk of happening with the hearing on the 10th, an almost unprecedented political crisis would be opened. Several senators expressed, privately, .
Lula’s nominee is popular among senators, but runs the risk of being rejected because Alcolumbre and important sectors of the Senate wanted the chosen one to be (-MG), former president of the House.
Messias’ fragile position, however, became an opportunity for senators to demand a general renegotiation in the relationship between the government and the Senate. Lula’s allies in the House accuse the government of insufficiently negotiating its projects. They also assess that the PT bench does little to defend Planalto’s proposals.
In recent days, Lula spoke with senators Weverton; (PSD-BA), president of the CCJ (Constitution and Justice Commission), the collegiate responsible for examining nominees for the STF; and Omar Aziz (AM), the leader of the PSD.
The president personally heard these complaints. He also rejected the idea that Alcolumbre was making Messias’ life difficult to obtain new positions in the government. This accusation, specifically, hurt the president of the Senate.
Lula would have understood that, before sending the message that officially begins the analysis of Messiah’s name by the Senate, it is necessary to reach an understanding with Alcolumbre. Without an agreement between these two parties, approval of the nominee would be almost impossible. The head of government should seek out the president of the Senate in the coming days, according to Weverton.
Although the postponement has lowered the political temperature, allies of the Senate president say he remains outraged by the way Lula handled the nomination process for the STF. They also speak of a breach of trust, since the House was the government’s main point of support in the Legislature in the current term.
