The Minister of Defense, José Múcio Monteiro, met this Tuesday with the president of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP), in a first attempt by the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) government to rebuild the relationship with the command of the House after the rejection of Jorge Messias’ nomination to the Federal Supreme Court (STF), last Wednesday.
The meeting took place at the official residence of the Senate and was treated by interlocutors from Planalto and Alcolumbre’s allies as an initial movement of detente after the historic defeat suffered by the government in the plenary. Messias, attorney general of the Union and one of Lula’s closest assistants, had his name rejected by the Senate after months of political wear and tear.
To the GloboMúcio confirmed the conversation and stated that the time is still to reduce the political temperature before any new discussion about the vacancy in the Supreme Court.
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— I was with Alcolumbre, yes, yesterday. My role was to check the temperature. The time is to appease. This is not the time to present a new indication, nothing, just let it settle. He will meet Lula, yes, later on — said the minister.
According to Senate interlocutors, Múcio also spoke with Alcolumbre about the importance of resuming direct dialogue with Lula after the president’s trip to the United States.
According to reports from Alcolumbre’s allies, the senator was willing to talk to the PT member, although allies on both sides privately admit that the environment is still far from pacified. When contacted through his advisors, the president of the Senate did not comment.
The meeting was interpreted by the government as a first attempt to resume dialogue after the crisis opened by Messiah’s defeat. Government officials assess that, more than the loss of a seat in the Supreme Court, the episode exposed the fragility of the government base in the House and consolidated Alcolumbre’s power of influence over the progress of the legislative agenda.
In addition to Múcio, other members of the government were also mobilized for the rapprochement effort. This Wednesday, Alcolumbre met with the Minister of Institutional Relations, José Guimarães, in the first meeting between them since Messias’ defeat. They shared an atmosphere at the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Chamber of Deputies. On the occasion, Alcolumbre praised Guimarães, stating that the minister is an example of the harmonious relationship between the Legislative and Executive. The two also talked privately.
Behind the scenes, Lula’s allies attribute to the president of the Senate a decisive role in the coordination that led to the rejection of the head of the AGU. Senators close to the government claim that Alcolumbre not only stopped acting to approve the name, but asked for a vote against it from senators from MDB, PSD, União Brasil and PP.
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Publicly, however, Alcolumbre vehemently denied having spoken out against Messias.
