Inquiry centres on whether or not “strings were pulled” at highest level, resulting in health service abuse
The commission of inquiry – which the public arguably has lost interest in – over whether strings were pulled, to ensure the massively expensive treatment of twin babies living in Brazil on the Portuguese national health service, is in danger of ‘falling’ if parliament is dissolved. Thus CHEGA, which called for it – which chairs it, and has already made enormous political capital out of it – is in a race to ensure this doesn’t happen.
The work of the commission was meant to be suspended until March 25. But due to the political crisis, and the likelihood of a snap election, work has been ‘reconvened’ to start today.
Chairman of the commission Rui Paulo Sousa says the plan is to try and debate and vote on the commission’s conclusions in a single meeting.
The trouble with this ambition is that ‘the commission’s conclusions’ are in no way consensual: they were drawn up without any consultation with other parties involved and presented to the press last Friday in a move that howled ‘political instrumentalisation’.
The ‘conclusions’ accused President Marcelo of abuse of power, very much in line with CHEGA’s constant messages that Portuguese society is iniquitous/ elitist. Thus, today’s meeting is faced with re-drafting the report presented to the press so brazenly last Friday, and then voting on it.
If this doesn’t happen, the likelihood is that parliament will be dissolved before the commission concludes. And if this is the case, the commission’s work will be seen as ‘ineffective’: it won’t be resumed in a subsequent legislative session. This does not mean that overall questions are silenced: the publilc prosecutor’s office in investigating, and has cited a number of people as ‘arguidos’ (official suspects), including President Marcelo’s son, Nuno Rebelo de Sousa. ND
