Portugal’s prime minister Luís Montenegro has had a ‘terrible week’ (politically-speaking) – and it is set to get a great deal worse.
This was the opinion of Politico even before the prime minister’s latest trials: those focusing on his perceived lavish spending on ‘Sport TV’ (a reported €20,000 per year) and his “arrogance” in dealing with no less than five attempts at dialogue made by PS counterpart José Luís Carneiro.
Today has been mercifully ‘quiet’ (due to ‘carnival’ celebrations, and the fact that a lot of people have taken the day off). But the week will heat up quickly: Thursday sees a debate in parliament on the government’s handling of the crisis created by a series of violent storms – and it is generally accepted that it has not done enough.
Even more complicated now is the fact that the prime minister has taken on the responsibilities of the ‘invisible’ minister of interior administration who finally threw in the sponge a week ago. As Politico points out, by assuming responsibility for management of the crisis, the PM is now ‘directly associated with it’ if it is seen to be going wrong.
As for the “terrible week”, it included the fact that the contractor that built the Montenegro family’s six-floor ‘holiday home’ in Espinho is allegedly being investigated for fiscal fraud. According to reports, there are discrepancies between the cost of the project and the receipts put in by the contractor. The situation this far does not directly ‘affect’ Mr Montenegro, but it is yet another ‘irritation’ involving the house, the construction of which, one way or the other, has been in and out of the news for months.
Since the ‘shock’ of the lavish spending on Sport TV was splashed across national media, stories have emerged to say the PM’s office has cut the whole package right back (to a more modest €5,000 a year).
But then came the “patience has its limits” warning from PS counterpart José Luís Carneiro.
Mr Carneiro claims that he has sent five separate ‘letters’ to the prime minister, trying to open up constructive dialogue – and got nowhere.
These letters concerned topics such as housing (the crisis), health (the crisis) and how to mitigate the effects of storm damage. The other letters concerned matters of justice and defence.
Mr Carneiro is a serious man. His focus is on getting the government’s attention (and preference, when it comes to dealing with matters on which it needs support). The AD government is not a majority government: it does need allies – and José Luís Carneiro is trying valiantly to show himself as the leader of a party that is keen to dialogue.
The PS leader has actually told Político that his ‘letters’ were “prepared with experienced specialists” and contained “concrete proposals”. Thus he is perplexed at the “silence” from São Bento (which he interprets as “arrogance” and “insensibility”).
Now, with the new political landscape opening up (a new, Socialist, president is poised to take office – and in his victory speech, António José Seguro called for “convergence” between parties), Carneiro and his party are hoping the silence will change.
Their intention is to be put on a different level to CHEGA – the right-wing party that polled more votes than PS Socialists in the last elections. PS Socialists are keen to dialogue, keen to negotiate – but “patience has its limits”, warns Carneiro.
Source material: Politico/ ZAP
