On Tuesday, at the close of the PSD/CDS-PP party debate sessions, the prime minister argued that the two parties that formed the pre-election Democratic Alliance coalition are “the central political force” in democracy, more focused on action than ideology.
“In this way, we are better equipped than anyone else to build bridges and convergence with other political parties to our right and left,” he said, reiterating the idea conveyed since taking office that the government wants to engage in dialogue with everyone without privileged partners.
In the first month of the executive, which took office on 18 June, Montenegro has already summoned the leaders of the Socialist Party (PS) and far right Chega Party to his office for meetings before the NATO summit and met again with Chega leader André Ventura at his official residence, at his request, on the issues of the IRS and immigration.
In the early elections on 18 May, which the Democratic Alliance coalition won again without an absolute majority, Chega became the second largest parliamentary political force, with 60 MPs, and the PS came third, with 58.
On Wednesday, the secretary-general of the PS, José Luís Carneiro, challenged Montenegro to choose who he would negotiate with and warned that the Socialists could not be placed on the same level as Chega, otherwise there would be a rift between the two parties.
“The PS can never be placed on the same level as a party that attacks democratic values, and if the prime minister is unable to distinguish between this political and social representation, then the prime minister is not qualified to define and defend the national interest,” he said after the meeting of the PS National Political Committee.
After approving a new reduction in personal income tax with votes in favour from Chega, the Liberals (IL) and the People-Animals-Nature Party (PAN) , the government managed to pass changes to the law on foreigners thanks to Chega’s vote in favour, with the Socialists against, and André Ventura said he already had a preliminary agreement with the executive on the nationality law, which will be voted on in September.
In the area of health, Ventura has already challenged the prime minister to present a plan for the sector in the state of the nation debate, while José Luís Carneiro sent Luís Montenegro a proposal to create a coordination unit for hospital emergencies.
The prime minister has already promised to “show his face” on Thursday for the government’s policy in this area, but argued that, despite isolated negative cases, there have been improvements compared to a year ago.
The country must also recognise that the national health service responds well in most cases,” he argued.
The demolition of illegal shacks and dwellings by the Lisbon municipalities of Loures and Amadora and the opening of an investigation by the National Data Protection Commission (CNPD) into the disclosure of minors’ names by Chega may also be brought up in parliamentary discussions on Thursday.
The last political debate before the summer, lasting approximately four hours, will open with a speech by the prime minister, which may last up to 40 minutes, and will also be closed by the government. This will be followed by requests for clarification from the parties, starting with Chega, followed by the PSD, PS, IL, Livre, PCP, CDS-PP, BE, PAN and JPP.
The first debate on the state of the nation with Luís Montenegro as prime minister took place exactly one year ago, then with Pedro Nuno Santos at the head of the PS, in a discussion that was dominated by the possibility of early elections and the still uncertain vote on the state budget for 2025.
A year ago, Montenegro opened the debate by accusing the PS and Chega of being “two sides of the same coin” of political irresponsibility and saying that only a motion of no confidence would bring down the executive.
The budget was eventually approved with the abstention of the PS, and the two motions of no confidence presented by Chega and PCP were rejected, but Montenegro’s first government fell on 11 March this year, following the rejection of a motion of confidence he presented to parliament during the political crisis that arose because of a family business owned by the prime minister, Spinumviva, which had since been passed on to his children.
