Manifesto did its best to topple Portugal’s last Attorney General
The Manifesto of the 50 – a group that came into being with an emphasis of toppling the country’s former Attorney General – has set its sights now on the new incumbent, Amadeu Guerra.
The group, which brings together signatories of the document “For a Reform of Justice in Defence of the Democratic Rule of Law”, claims its legitimacy has been strengthened “by recent statements (by Guerra) in the public arena”.
According to signatories, Guerra has sought to “set limits on legislative power”.
PSD MP Paulo Mota Pinto tells Lusa: “There has been a convergence in the sense that the problem of the Manifesto is not just a problem of justice, it is also a problem of democracy, of the rule of law, and we see this even, for example, when there is a kind of opposition to legitimacy, or when, for example, the Attorney (General) of the Republic seeks to set limits on legislative power or when recently elected officials want to counter their legitimacy with the democratic legitimacy of those who are elected.”
Thus, the group has met to discuss “forms of organisation and future initiatives”.
As Lusa explains, “for Paulo Mota Pinto, “this kind of behavior (Guerra’s) is obviously unacceptable”.
The sense of ‘indignation’ coming from those within the Manifesto harks back to the comments of the last Attorney General, Lucília Gago, who frequently referred to “multiple forces” trying to smear the Justice system.
In Lusa’s perspective, Amadeu Guerra “did not shy away from criticizing the actions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office” when he took office last month, saying that “it is always available to be held accountable in parliament”. But he did stress that magistrates need to carry out their work “without the media hype and public discussion of their activity in specific cases”, rejecting legislative changes that are the result of high-profile court cases.
“In general terms, I am against legislative changes that are carried out as a result of specific cases, in a hasty manner, sometimes without justification and without considering, in particular, the effects and consequences that may occur in the future,” he said, very much reminiscent of comments made by his predecessor when she agreed to an interview with RTP before being questioned in parliament.
The Manifesto of the 50 has said it will request hearings with the new Attorney General and parliamentary groups.
Lusa’s report steers clear of identifying any leading lights in the manifesto, a number of which are politicians (past and/ or present) and public figures/ former civil servants that may see themselves as having been negatively affected by investigations into their activities.
It could also be coincidental that this new focus of the manifesto comes at a point where Amadeu Guerra has said that investigations into Operation Influencer – and to any involvement of former prime minister António Costa – are still ongoing, a full year after the probe was launched, with enormous fanfare, toppling the then absolute majority Socialist government.
