Motion bound to fall – but will also have fall-out
The PSD/CDS-PP government led by Luís Montenegro faces its first motion of censure today, less than 11 months after taking office – presented by CHEGA and with guaranteed rejection by parliament.
The motion, with debate scheduled for 3pm, is entitled “For the end of a government without integrity, led by a Prime Minister under serious suspicion”. It has its origins in the situation of the real estate company of which Luís Montenegro was a partner until June 2022 and which now belongs to his wife and their children.
Yesterday, CHEGA leader André Ventura tried to coax the explanations he believes the prime minister should be giving the country by offering to withdraw the motion if the prime minister sent documentation to parliament.
According to the Rules of Procedure, a motion of censure can be withdrawn up until the end of the debate, explains Lusa. If it is put to a vote and rejected, the signatories are not able to submit another motion during the same legislative session (which will ‘condition’ CHEGA, a party prone to grandstanding).
The opening of the debate – expected to last three hours – will be given to CHEGA’s leader for 12 minutes, followed by the same amount of time for the prime minister, who has referred all clarifications on the case to this motion.
Afterwards, there will be 134 minutes for requests for clarification from the parties to the government – in order of registration –, with each bench having five minutes for the first question.
The closing, with ten minutes for the government and another ten for CHEGA, precedes the vote on the document, which is guaranteed to fail, due to all parties accusing the right-wingers of simply wanting to divert attention from their own internal legal catastrophes (MPs and delegates caught in deeply embarrassing/ criminal situations).
Earlier this week, in Brazil where he was for the 14th bilateral summit, Luís Montenegro referred to this case for the first time, out loud.
“I will provide all the necessary clarifications in the Assembly of the Republic (…) I am very calm, I will do what is my obligation, with all the tranquility of someone who has always honored his personal, professional and political life based on criteria of honesty, tolerance and respect for everyone”, he stated.
Correio da Manhã reported on Saturday that the company Spinumviva, owned by Luís Montenegro’s family, “could benefit from the change to the land law approved by the Government” and that, as the Prime Minister is “married in common ownership with the firm’s main partner”, this will leave him “in a situation of potential conflict of interests”.
In a written response to the newspaper, the Prime Minister argued that there is no conflict of interest, stated that since June 30, 2022 he has not been a partner in this company, of which he was founder and manager, and that “any real estate business linked to the legislative change” of the land law has never been, is not and will not be the object of the company’s activity.
Luís Montenegro added that, of the company’s vast corporate purpose, it only provided consultancy services in the area of personal data protection and assured that it had no contracts “nor any relationship with any public entity”.
However, Correio da Manhã reported that the alleged sale of Luís Montenegro’s share in the family business to his wife is null and void, as this type of transfer between spouses is prohibited by the Civil Code.
This newspaper and other media outlets have been adding other data about the company: between 2021 and 2023, it had a total turnover of €718,000 and a total profit of €345,000, with total personnel expenses being €92,000.
Last weekend, CHEGA president, André Ventura, threatened to present a motion of censure against the PSD/CDS-PP government if the Prime Minister did not provide explanations to the country on this matter, which he did on Tuesday.
Although distancing himself from the motion of censure, secretary general of the PS, Pedro Nuno Santos, considered that the case is “very similar” to the one that led to the resignation of the Secretary of State Hernâni Dias and also urged Luís Montenegro to give explanations “as soon as possible”.
Since then, the minister of territorial cohesion Manuel Castro Almeida has thrown something of a curved ball into the arena, telling state broadcaster RTP that he sold his own real estate company a week ago, in order not to be accused of trying to take advantage of the changes to the land law.
Castro Almeida’s decision, and explanation, has been seized on by the press to challenge the prime minister to do the same with Spinumviva: get rid of it, or, in the words of his minister “cut off the problem at its roots”.
