President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva told allies that he intends to send the nomination of Jorge Messias for a vacancy on the Federal Supreme Court back to the Senate, even after the rejection of the name by the plenary of the House, according to information published by Folha de S.Paulo this Sunday (17).
According to the newspaper, Lula assesses that the choice of Court ministers is a prerogative of the President of the Republic and that the defeat represented a setback for the government, not for Messias personally.
According to Folha, the president must resend the name before the October elections. In conversations with ministers and political organizers, Lula reportedly stated that there was no technical justification for the rejection of the Union’s attorney general and that Messias demonstrated preparation during the hearing in the Senate.
The report also states that Lula reinforced his positive assessment after following demonstrations of support for the AGU during the inauguration of the new president of the Superior Electoral Court. According to Folha, the atmosphere between the president and senator Davi Alcolumbre became colder after the episode, marked by few interactions between the two during the ceremony.
Close allies reported to the newspaper that Jorge Messias became a recluse after the rejection and even considered leaving the government. Lula, however, would have asked him not to make decisions “in the heat of defeat”. The AGU went on vacation on May 13th and should return to office on May 25th.
Folha also reported that, despite the unprecedented defeat in the Senate, Lula does not intend to promote changes in the government’s political articulation with Congress. According to the newspaper, the president maintains support for the government leader in the Senate, Jaques Wagner, and the Minister of Institutional Relations, José Guimarães.
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