President Marcelo does not want repeat of Socialist government blunders
With PSD leader Luís Montenegro described as raring to go with populist measures to power Portugal’s new minority government, media sources today are repeating a tabloid contention that the swearing in of his executive will be delayed until the beginning of April because President Marcelo wants to see all prospective holders of office pass the 36-point ‘screening mechanism’ approved by PS Socialists last year.
The questionnaire was brought in on the back of countless ‘issues’ with government appointments. Outgoing prime minister António Costa described it as ensuring “political integrity” but refused Marcelo’s request at the time to put his executive through the procedure.
According to Correio da Manhã, Marcelo’s intention is not simply to leave prospective government ministers/ Secretaries of State respond to the questionnaire themselves.
“Belém (the presidential palace) wants to evaluate the integrity of future ministers one-by-one”, says the paper.
Considering Luís Montenegro has not yet had his official audience with Marcelo (it is due on Wednesday March 20), the understanding is that he will not yet have produced the names of prospective appointees for Belém to ‘evaluate’.
As CM explains: “Belém wants to avoid a repetition of the so called ‘cases and little cases’ that contaminated the government of António Costa and which culminated in the discovery of €75,800 hidden in the office of Vítor Escária (the prime minister’s chief of staff) in the official residence of São Bento, and the resignation of the leader of the executive”.
The paper adds that “one of the justifications made by António Costa to implement the questionnaire was that it constituted an additional mechanism to tighten democratic scrutiny and the confidence of citizens in the nation’s political system”. These are values “very dear to the President of the Republic.
“Thus agendas that wanted to see the first plenary session in parliament on March 24 or 25 will suffer considerable delay, with the government taking office only at the beginning of April”.
The future prime minister will keep his audience with President Marcelo scheduled for Wednesday, as this is the moment the final votes (from emigré constituencies inside and outside Europe) will be known, resulting in four further MPs for parliament once it convenes.
As for the 36 questions that prospective members of government will need to answer satisfactorily, they are:
- Do you currently carry out professional activities, and/or are you a member of the governing bodies of any legal persons?
2. Have you been a member of the governing bodies of any legal persons in the last three years?
3. Have you carried out in the last three years, an activity of any kind, whether or not remunerated or on a permanent basis, which could give rise to real, apparent or merely potential conflicts of interest with the post to which you are being proposed?
4. Do you hold, or have you held in the last three years, by yourself or jointly with a member of your household, capital or equity in companies or firms?
5. Do you own, or have you held in the last three years, by yourself or jointly with a member of your household, capital or equity in companies or firms that are active in the sector directly covered by the area of government of the post for which you are being proposed?
6. Does any member of your household hold capital, or an interest in capital, in companies or firms that are active in the sector directly covered by the area of government of the post for which you are being proposed?
7. Have you, or has a member of your household, in the last three years, owned a company, or a stake in a company, which has concluded public contracts with entities covered by the Public Contracts Code and which are going to be directly supervised by the area of government of the post for which you are being proposed?
8. Does any member of your household own a company, or have a stake in a company, that has entered into public contracts with entities covered by the Public Contracts Code and which will be directly supervised by the area of government of the post for which you are being proposed?
9. Do you hold, or have you held in the last three years, management positions in companies and/or firms that are active in the sector directly supervised by the area of government of the post for which you are being proposed?
10. Do any members of your household hold management positions in companies and/or firms that are active in the sector directly covered by the area of government of the post for which you are being proposed?
11. Do you have, or have you had in the last three years, public or private activities in the sector directly covered by the area of government for which you are being proposed?
12. Do any members of your household carry out public or private activities in the sector directly supervised by the area of government for which you are being proposed?
13. In the last three years, have you held positions in public entities or entities in which the State has a relevant position?
14. In the last three years, have you benefited from any type of financial incentive or tax incentive, of a contractual nature, granted by a national or European Union public body?
15. Does any member of your household hold, or has held in the last three years, a position in a public entity or one in which the State has a relevant position?
16. Has any member of your household been the beneficiary of any type of contractual financial or tax incentive granted by a national or European Union public body in the last three years?
17. Has any company owned by you, or jointly with any member of your household, or in which you hold corporate positions, been the beneficiary of any type of financial incentive or tax incentive, of a contractual nature, granted by a national or European Union public entity?
18. Has any company owned by you, or jointly with any member of your household, or in which you hold corporate positions, been the beneficiary of any type of financial incentive or tax incentive, of a contractual nature, granted by a national public entity or the European Union?
19. In view of the position to which you have been invited, is there any particular situation of conflict of interest and/or impediment that would recommend that the Prime Minister relinquish any of the powers inherent in the position you are about to occupy, and delegate them to another member of the Government?
20. Income of national origin (yes or no): employment income; self-employment income; commercial and industrial income; agricultural income; capital income; property income; capital gains; pensions; other income
21. Do you have income of foreign origin?
22. Do you have assets and/or bank accounts based abroad?
23. Are your tax affairs in order with the Tax and Customs Authority (AT)?
24. Is the company or business owned by you, or jointly with a member of your household, or in which you hold capital or an equity stake, or in which you also hold a corporate position, tax compliant with the Tax and Customs Authority (AT)?
25. Is the tax situation of a company or firm owned by a member of your household, or in which they hold capital or a stake, or in which they also hold a corporate position, regularized with the Tax and Customs Authority (AT)?
26. Is their tax situation regularized with the Social Security (SS)?
27. Does the company or business owned by you, or jointly with a member of your household, or in which you hold capital or a stake, or in which you also hold a position, have its tax situation regularized with the Social Security (SS)?
28. Does the company or firm owned by any member of your household, or in which they hold capital or an equity stake, or in which they also hold a corporate position, have its tax situation regularized with the Social Security (SS)?
29. Have you ever been convicted of any criminal or administrative offence?
30. Has the legal person whose governing bodies you are, or have been a member of, ever been convicted of any criminal or administrative offence?
31. Has the company and/or firm of which you are the manager, or whose capital you hold, or in which you hold an equity stake, together with any member of your household, ever been convicted of any criminal or administrative offence?
32. Do you have any legal, administrative or disciplinary proceedings pending in which you are directly or indirectly involved (involving any of the members of your household)?
33. Are you aware that any situation in which you were directly or indirectly involved is the subject of a criminal investigation?
34. Are you insolvent?
35. Is any company in which you have held share capital and/or been a director in the last three years insolvent?
36. Are you aware of any other fact not identified above which is likely to affect the conditions of impartiality and probity for the exercise of the office for which you are proposed, even if it occurred more than three years ago?
natasha.donn@portugalresident.com
