The prime minister returns to parliament this Wednesday for a fortnightly debate, one day after the government approved the final version of the PTRR and with the labor package still at an impasse in social consultation.
The PTRR will have a global financial envelope of 22.6 billion euros – and a time horizon of nine years -, divided between national public funds (37%), private financing (34%) and European funds (19%).
The debate begins with an initial intervention by the prime minister, followed by questions from the opposition, starting with Chega and followed by PS, IL, Livre, PCP and the sole deputies of BE, PAN and JPP. CDS-PP and PSD, the parties that support the Government, will be the last to question Luís Montenegro.
The last fortnightly debate, held on April 15, was marked by opposition criticism of the way in which the Government has responded to the increase in the prices of fuel and essential goods following the war in Iran and labor legislation, topics that should return to parliamentary discussion.
Labor package and party financing on the table
Last week, the national secretariat of the UGT unanimously rejected the latest version of the proposed revision of labor legislation presented by the Government, but the Minister of Labor, Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho, appealed to the union central to show that it wants to come closer, and scheduled a Social Concertation meeting for May 7th to conclude the negotiation process.
The Prime Minister also considered that, in order to reach an agreement on the labor package, there must be “a concession from UGT”, considering that it was the “only partner that has not yet given in” and asking that it not show “total intransigence”.
Montenegro stated that it is necessary to “take advantage of the next two weeks to, in a calm manner and without partisan passions being thrown into the mix”, make a “final assessment” so that the negotiations do not prolong any longer.
In recent days, issues linked to the transparency of politicians and the they returned to the agenda and were even addressed by the two first figures of the State in their speeches at the solemn session on the 25th of April.
First, it was the president of parliament, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, who criticized the proliferation of legislation to limit the exercise of political positions, warning that populist remedies close politics, an intervention that deserved the protest of the vice-president of the socialist bench, Pedro Delgado Alves: he stood up with his back turned after the end of the speech by the president of the Assembly of the Republic.
Afterwards, the President of the Republic, Antonio José Seguro, took a position in the current debate about access to the identity of those who make political donations.
“Transparency in political donations is essential to guarantee a healthy and fair democracy. When financing is clear and accessible, citizens can understand who supports who and with what interests. Making donations public is not an administrative issue, it is a commitment to ethics and respect for the Portuguese, because where there is opacity, suspicion grows, where there is clarity, legitimacy strengthens”, he argued.
The Political Accounts and Financing Entity (ECFP) no longer made the identity of party donors available, following an opinion it requested from the Commission for Access to Administrative Documents (CADA), arguing that the protection of donors’ personal data was at stake.
PS, BE and Livre have already submitted bills to make this information public again and Chega announced that it will also have a diploma on the topic.
