The SDP president said on Wednesday that “there is no shortage of opposition to the Government,” and separated himself from both the Government Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRP) and the next State Budget, declaring the “complete independence” of the social sphere. – Democrats.
At the end of the meeting with the President of the Republic, Rui Rio said that the need for an alternative political structure to the government “neither from the right, nor from the left” was not discussed.
“We talked about the political landscape in general (…) This is what will happen if everything goes well in 2023,” he said.
When asked if the request of the President of the Republic, made about a week ago, to representatives of the private sector to compete for stronger political players, who repeat them at the moment of elections, was perceived as criticism of his leadership, Rio said that he did not understand this. what a way.
“I have not seen this, but you must ask the President of the Republic. I admit that this is so, I interpret that The President of the Republic intends – not that he told me there – that employers’ associations are more interventionist in defending their interests, ” stated.
“In my opinion, there is no shortage of opposition to the Government. As for the social partners, the President of the Republic may wish to be more competitive. ”
With regard to political parties, he defended, they can sometimes even be considered “too harsh when they constantly say bad things.”
“In my opinion, there is no shortage of opposition to the government. As for the social partners, the president of the republic may wish to be more competitive, ”he said.stating that he had not heard “any analysis” in the meeting for about an hour, that he might have been offended by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
“The government never listened to us, I even heard the Prime Minister say that the SDP has no ideas. This makes me think that he did not read them or did not call at all. “
When asked about the invitation addressed to him by the Chega leader for the convergence platform, Rio said he did not receive any letter and refused to make any “public comments” about the party and its leader André Ventura.
At the meeting, Rio pointed to PRR as the main topic of discussion, echoing criticism of the public sector’s priority over companies and recalling that PSD had submitted alternative proposals “three times”.
“The government never listened to us, I even heard the Prime Minister say that the SDP has no ideas. This leads me to believe that he did not read them or did not call at all. The prime minister and the government risk getting a PRR that they wanted to develop on their own, ”he criticized, noting that only 25% of the funds under this plan are allocated to companies.
Answering the question about the next state budget, the leader of the SDP replied that he had not been discussed with the president of the republic, but stressed the “position of complete independence” of the party in this matter.
Rio warns that BE and PCP’s requirement to review labor laws could jeopardize the country’s competitiveness.
“Circumstances may be different because we may have to play between our beliefs and the country’s balance. But a year ago, the Prime Minister was very clear when he said that if the SDP is required to approve the budget, it will be rejected, ”he said, believing that“ regardless ”of the Social Democrats vote and that the document would have to be agreed by the left.
The PSD leader warned of the BE and PCP’s requirement to revise labor laws, believing that this could further undermine the country’s competitiveness.
So he defended the stake should be on the private sector to create “better-paying jobs” despite “no immediate effect from a selective point of view” as opposed to “the emergence of a bridge, a road or a hospital.”
The President of the Republic concludes on Wednesday the hearings of all parties that won a seat in parliament, which began on Monday.
New bank. Rio Denies BES Decision Was Political Fraud, But Admits “Problems”
The SDP president today denied that the BES decision taken by Passos Coelho’s government was a “political fraud,” as stated in the party-approved commission of inquiry report for Novo Banco, although admitting “problems.”
Rui Rio stressed to journalists that the SDP “voted against this conclusion”, in particular, and in the final global vote on the report voted “for”, but explained the reasons for voting on this matter.
“PSD does not deny that there were problems and there are problems with BES resolution, but it is in the report itself that BES permission is the least evil,” he said.
According to Rio, “there is no political fraud, there is a solution that had problems in such a complex problem.”
The leader of the SDP justified the final, generally favorable vote of the party by saying that, in addition to this aspect, “the report is well prepared and emphasizes the responsibility” of both the government and Novo Banco and Banco de Portugal.
“If the SDP voted against because it contains a detail with which it disagrees, there was no report, and there was never a report from any commission of inquiry,” he explained.
Ryo stressed that PS voted against the report because “it is particularly serious in terms of the accountability of the socialist government,” and congratulated all the deputies of the commission of inquiry, believing that they were “fulfilling their function with dignity.”
The final report of the Parliamentary Investigation Committee on the losses recorded by Novo Banco and imputed to the Settlement Fund was approved by votes in favor of MPs PSD, BE, PCP, PAN and IL abstaining from CDS. -PP and voting against PS.
The final vote followed the resignation of PS MP Fernando Anastasio from the role of rapporteur due to the fact that he was not considered in the final document, as a result of voting on several dozen proposals for changes submitted by the parties.
At the suggestion of the PCP, an amendment to the report was approved on Monday stating that the BES decision and its initial capitalization of 4.9 billion euros were “political fraud.”
“The decision, which constituted a political fraud, as the Portuguese were told that it would be possible to pay the bank with 4.9 billion euros, knowing that the ‘holding’ liabilities exceeded 12 billion euros,” can be read in the proposed amendment. PCP to the report approved by PS, BE and PCP votes, and against PSD, CDS, PAN and IL.
According to the Communist text, the decision to introduce a resolution to the BES and to create Novo Banco on August 3, 2014 “was a decision that, by virtue of its consequences, also places responsibility on the government”, at the time led to Pedro Passos Coelho (PSD / CDS-PP) …
