One day after being the target of a Federal Police operation, (-BA) told allies that he does not intend to resign as government leader in the Senate, unless it is at the request of President Lula (PT). The two are friends.
Upset by what he calls friendly fire, Wagner expects to meet with the president next week to discuss the government’s leadership.
Members of the senator’s political group say that Wagner has heard opinions in favor of and against his removal from office.
According to these allies, Wagner has reiterated that he has no attachment to the role, but has expressed irritation with the articulations made behind his back.
In recent conversations, the argument has prevailed that Wagner’s political weakening is shaking Lula’s platform in Bahia, a state fundamental to the president’s victory in 2022. This is one of the theses taken to the Planalto Palace in favor of Wagner remaining in leadership.
A wing of the government fears, however, that the fragments of the Master case will affect the president’s image, even though the scandal was only dismantled during his government. Minister of Institutional Relations, José Guimarães is one of those who defend this shield against Lula, as he considers it unfair that he should be undermined by the scheme he fought.
“We have to make it clear that the government has nothing to do with this. We cannot mix the seasons,” said the minister.
Under reservation, other ministers expressed discomfort with the fact that Wagner stated that he counts on the president’s support to remain in leadership.
With the approval of President Lula, ministers and allies launched an operation on Thursday (18) to get the senator to hand over his position. Lula considered his continued leadership of the government as unsustainable, but instead of removing him, he hopes that he will ask to leave.
On Friday (19), during an official agenda in Minas, Lula responded with a thumbs up when asked by journalists about Wagner’s continued leadership.
On Thursday (18), after the Federal Police arrested Lula, he called Wagner twice. According to the president’s allies, in both conversations, they were unable to discuss a succession in government leadership due to the senator’s emotional distress.
Ministers state that this gesture of solidarity by the president should not be understood as a guarantee of maintaining his position as leader, but a sign for Wagner to take on his departure as a personal initiative, under the argument that he needs to dedicate himself to his defense.
Still according to these allies, it was Lula who suggested that. But, within the government, the assessment is that they were insufficient, which will require developments.
In the interview with , the government leader in the Senate cited the president’s phone call. “He made a point of calling me, expressing solidarity with me,” he said.
The senator said he would continue to lead the government in the Senate until further notice. “The leadership of the government is the responsibility of President Lula, with whom I spoke today, and I find it very difficult for him to change my position due to the relationship we have and the trust he has in me.”
Allies of the president classified the interview as above tone.
