New nationality law and amendment to the Penal Code approved. PSD and Chega reached an agreement

Despite the agreements, Hugo Soares leaves a message: PS and Chega “really got married” when voting on proposals on mobility subsidies.

The Legislative Assembly reviewed this Wednesday the decrees that intend to change the Nationality Law and the Penal Code (in order to include the possibility of loss of nationality as an additional penalty), after some rules were rejected by the Constitutional Court (TC).

A few minutes before this debate began, the parliamentary leader of the PSD announced that the party reached agreement with the He arrives to approve the new decrees that amend the nationality law and the Penal Code, overcoming the unconstitutionalities highlighted by the STF.

“I would like, on behalf of the PSD Parliamentary Group, to announce that, as has always been our conviction, the country today may have finally approved a new Nationality Law and changes to the Penal Code”, announced Hugo Soares in statements to journalists in parliament.

The PSD parliamentary leader said that it was possible to reach an understanding with Chega, without “giving up any principle” and “dialoguing with everyone”.

“We regret that has not been possible also make this understanding with the PS, because the PS wanted to recover a discussion that had already taken place before the first approval of this law”, he explained.

Practically at the same time, the confirmation on the side of André Ventura’s party. In statement, the Parliamentary Group of He arrives says that an agreement was reached with the “PSD/CDS majority” regarding “a joint text” amending the nationality law and also the decree that amends the Penal Code to include the sanction of loss of nationality, which “presupposes concessions from both parties with a view to approval” of the diploma.

This statement came just after Ventura said about the nationality law and that Chega would move forward with “its own and autonomous proposals”.

Almost a week ago, last Thursday, the same André Ventura announced that PSD and Chega had an understanding on the Nationality Law.

Polls

Already in the vote, PSD, Chega, IL and CDS-PP approved in a final global vote on a new decree revising the Nationality Law, after the Constitutional Court (TC) rejected the rules of the first version last December.

Voted in favor 152 deputies (PSD, Chega, IL and CDS-PP) and against 64 (PS, Livre, PCP, BE and PAN) out of a total of 217 deputies present, registering the abstention of the only JPP deputy, exceeding the required threshold of absolute majority (116), necessary as it is an organic law.

During the debate, the Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, argued in the Assembly of the Republic that “Today is the day to restore national consensus” and “give Portugal the Nationality Law that the Portuguese want”.

João Almeida (CDS-PP) accused the Constitutional Court of “judicial activism” for having rejected changes to the nationality law and argued that Portugal cannot be “just any country that grants nationality at three strokes”.

PSD, Chega, IL and CDS-PP also approved, in a final global vote, a new decree amending the Penal Code which provides for the possibility of a judge applying as an additional penalty to loss of nationality.

PS and Chega “really got married”

Despite the agreement with Chega, Hugo Soares said that PS and Chega “really got married” when negotiating and vote in favor of each other’s proposals on mobility allowancedemanding respect when the PSD does the same and dialogues with both.

“[Terça-feira] it was Chega and the Socialist Party that married together. They no longer date alone. They even got married. And I say this to you because I am constantly seeing in the political debate, even the political actors of Chega and the Socialist Party, in that childish tantrum that I have already classified, of saying that when we speak to the PS they cannot speak to the PS, when we speak to Chega we cannot speak to one or the other, but then the two can do anything”, he emphasized.

At issue were the votes in committee the day before to change the mobility subsidy proposal, a topic on which the PSD parliamentary leader pointed out that PS and Chega had joined forces.

“Chega approved those of the PS. The PS approved Chega’s. And there’s no one to say anything. What is true for some, is not true for others. I respect that parties can have this dialogue. Now what I demand is that they also respect what the PSDB is already doing and which is what we are doing well”, he criticized.

According to Hugo Soares, “no news” reported what happened in parliament the day before.

“Yesterday the Socialist Party and Chega, in the eyes of everyone, negotiated, agreed, talked and voted together, one and the other, on changes to the social mobility subsidy, which has to do, as you know, with air transport from the autonomous regions to here”, he said, remembering that “they ended the ceiling limit for purchasing these trips”.

The PSD parliamentary leader stated that, with these changes, the reimbursement of the social mobility subsidy was once again placed on travel agencies, putting an end to a question of principle for which there was willingness to make adjustments.

“I didn’t see a line written about this. I didn’t see Dr. Eurico Brilhante Dias, indignant here, saying that the Workers’ Party was making an agreement with Chega. Nor did I see Dr. André Ventura say that he shouldn’t make agreements with the Workers’ Party. But I respect that. What I don’t respect is that, when it is the PSD that has this obligation, to talk to the Socialist Party and Chega, they ask me if there is a standard”, he condemned.

Constitutional review

Hugo Soares asked the country to focus on “urgent and emerging problems” and argued that a possible constitutional review “should be left for a second phase of the legislature”.

Hugo Soares was asked whether the PSD will present its own constitutional review project, confirming the intention announced by Chega to trigger a review process in April.

“It’s not worth spending a lot of time on the issue of constitutional review. I refer to the Prime Minister’s inauguration speech, which told the country the following: the focus is on the country’s urgent and emerging problems”, he stated.

According to Hugo Soares, “the constitutional review should be left for a second phase of the legislature, if there is an opportunity to do so at that time”.