🇵🇹 Portugal's politics and elections 3.0

[Mike88]

The Constitutional Court has rejected, again, CHEGA's new statutes and structure and is forcing the party to remove powers from Ventura. This was the 2nd rejection of the Court and now CHEGA will have to approve new statutes for a third time. The Court says that in the current rules, Ventura has an excessive concentration of powers in him, that would undermine transparency and freedom of speech within the party. Ventura says he's surprised with the Court's ruling and will analyse the decision in a party meeting next week, and to initiate procedures to call another party congress to change the statutes.

I've never seen anywhere else a party getting busted by an actual tribunal for being too personalistic... twice. The André Ventura saga never stops being incredible. Is this whole affair a first for Portugal?

Every change that a party does in its statutes, like name, organization, etc, needs to be approved by the Court, and CHEGA, or rather Ventura, has been approving things like the "Cork law", in which party members are forbidden to publicly talk about the party's internal life, or the contentration of powers in the leader, which runs over other party organs, that violates several laws. Why they decide to do this, or if they are incompetent, I don't know. My hunch is that they want to play the victim card, screaming that everyone is against them. Ventura has a law degree, he knows what the law says, so he probably knows that this is "complicated" to be accepted by the Court, but, like I said, plays the victim card.

I don't recall something like this regarding any party. There is, sometimes, Court disputes between some party members and the leadership, especially in the PSD, but almost always the Court sides with the party leadership, but nothing at the scale of CHEGA, which will have to change their rules for a 3rd time. They could still appeal, but I'm not sure it will be successful.

[Mike88]

Parties start presenting their proposals for revision of the Constitution. The main proposals from each party are the following:

If the mood was a bit tense in the PSD regarding this discussion, in the PS it wasn't better and it seems that it was much more complicated:

https://twitter.com/Visao_pt/status/1591163500444852224

The atmosphere was agitated in the Political Commission. Prominent leaders, such as Vieira da Silva and Silva Pereira, criticized Costa's hard core. Angry at the (almost) general disapproval, the PS leader regretted that jurists are "a barrier to common sense"

Normally, high profile meetings of the PSD are the ones that are more tense and divisive, but, this time it seems that the PS meeting was much more tense than one might thought. According to Visão magazine, Costa was furious during the whole meeting for several PS leaders and members criticizing his proposal for Constitutional revision. The magazine also reports that many party members criticized Costa for being "distant" from party affairs and of being dependent on a close circle of people on top. Like it was above said, Costa was furious and didn't liked the tone of many PS members in the meeting and even vented that "jurists are a barrier to common sense". Facing this big disapproval for his proposal and the timing of it, by the end of the meeting Costa started to distance himself from his own proposal and the PS revision draft wasn't even voted.

[Mike88]

Jerónimo de Sousa says farewell to the PCP leadership. Paulo Raimundo is officially elected this afternoon:

https://twitter.com/RTPNoticias/status/1591403217921138689

Jerónimo de Sousa bids farewell to PCP leadership

The Communist Party is holding this weekend a National Convention, with around 1,000 delegates, to confirm the departure of Jerónimo de Sousa and the confirmation of Paulo Raimundo as new leader. In his final speech as leader, Jerónimo accused the PS majority government of leaning more and more to the rightwing and that the PCP needs to fight against the "brutal offensive" towards the party. Then, Jerónimo accused Capitalism of being the cause for major social, economical and environment problems, and that decades of that Capitalist strategy, from PS, PSD and CDS, led Portugal to major crisis and staled development. In order to strengthen the party, Jerónimo advises party members to have more initiatives and fight more on the streets for better wages, a better NHS and he also advises them to fight against NATO, its expansion, adding that the US and the EU should stop instigating Ukraine to fight against Russia. He got a standing ovation after his speech. Paulo Raimundo will be confirmed by the party's 129 member Central Committee during the afternoon.

[Mike88]

Climate activists storm the venue, in Lisbob city, where the Economy minister, António Costa Silva, was holding a meeting. They are demanding the resignation of the minister.

https://twitter.com/CatarinaDemony/status/1591448934584844288

[Mike88]

Jerónimo de Sousa says farewell to the PCP leadership. Paulo Raimundo is officially elected this afternoon:

Paulo Raimundo was officially elected with "almost" unanimity by the PCP's Central Committee:

128 In Favour
    0 Against
    1 Abstention (Paulo Raimundo himself refused to vote for him)

[Mike88]

And... Deputy Secretary Miguel Alves has resigned from the Government. He lasted 55 days in office.

Disgraced former Costa's Deputy Secretary, Miguel Alves, has also resigned from the leadership of the PS-Viana do Castelo district branch. He was reelected one week ago with 91% of the votes from party members.

[Mike88]

Local by-election today:

The around 840 voters of São Jacinto parish, Aveiro, are heading to the polls this Sunday to elect a new parish assembly after the previous fell after disagreements regarding the financial situation of the parish. São Jacinto is the most indebted parish of Aveiro municipality with debts worth 300,000 euros to several entities, like water distribution, and Aveiro City Hall, controlled by the PSD, is forbidding more transfers of money to the parish until their financial situation is resolved.

São Jacinto is the only PS controlled parish in Aveiro municipality and 4 lists are on the ballot: PS, PSD/CDS/PPM, CDU and CHEGA. Polls close at 7pm and results will be announced shortly after.

[Mike88]

PCP convention: First speech of Paulo Raimundo as party leader, "There are those who salivate and despair for the end of the PCP. Wait seated".

https://twitter.com/dntwit/status/1591792004975194113

Paulo Raimundo: "There are those who salivate and despair for the end of the PCP. Wait seated"

The PCP new leader gave his first speech to the party's 1,000 delegates in their convention this Sunday. Paulo Raimundo started to thank Jerónimo de Sousa for his service to the party, which generated a big standing ovation. Then, he promissed to strengthen the party, saying the Communists can only grow from now on and warned that those who "salivate" and are "desperate" for the end of the PCP, will fail. Raimundo went on to trash the PS, which he labeled as "rightwing" and accused the government of being in the hand of big business and interests. He promissed to fight against the PS majority and asked for a big mobilization from party members. Regarding the ongoing war in Ukraine, which PCP has been accused of siding with Russia, Raimundo said that "Fire doesn't go out with gasoline", thus, suggesting that both sides should negotiate and stop the war.

[Mike88]

Local by-election today:

São Jacinto parish by-election: PSD/CDS/PPM gain from PS.

Vote share %: (compared with the 2021 election)

48.0% PSD/CDS/PPM (+10.7), 4 seats (+1)
33.0% PS (-9.3), 2 (-1)
17.2% CDU (-0.7), 1 (nc)
  0.4% CHEGA (+0.2), 0 (nc)
  1.4% Blank/Invalid (-0.9)

60.4% Turnout (-6.2)

The PSD coalition won 240 votes, PS got 165, CDU 86 and CHEGA just 2 votes. 4 ballots were invalid and 3 blank.

[crals]

So Chega got less votes than their list had candidates? That's something.

[Mike88]

So Chega got less votes than their list had candidates? That's something.

A year ago, in the local elections, they did worse: just 1 vote.  I bet that half, or even the majority, as in electoral lists you also need surrogates, of the list members don't reside or vote in São Jacinto, thus the embarrassing result. But, if the guy resides there with his family... Yikes

[Mike88]

Another week, another controversy regarding Government members. This time implicating Costa himself.

António Costa signed a series of "suspected" direct contracts with former Secretary Miguel Alves, back when Costa was mayor of Lisbon:

https://twitter.com/observadorpt/status/1591910341809668098

On the same day, Lisbon city hall signed three contracts by direct agreement with Miguel Alves

TVI/CNN Portugal revealed, last night, that back in 2010, when António Costa was mayor of Lisbon and Miguel Alves was just a 35 year old former advisor of Costa, Costa signed a series of direct contracts, worth 80,000 euros, in order to hire Miguel Alves services to advise councillor Graça Fonseca, later Culture minister in Costa's 2nd cabinet (2019-22), regarding local budgets. By this time, Alves was no longer advising Costa in Lisbon city hall but was working in a company owned by Diogo Lacerda Machado, a person that some say is Costa's best friend. Alves and Lisbon city hall signed 3 deals, on the same day, for legal advise in local government affairs, even though Alves' CV wasn't recommended to this function as he had little experience or little college education. Alves worked in extreme secrecy, according to the report, not even working within Lisbon city hall facilities but in another location, in outsourcing regime. This caught the attention of a local PSD Assembly member who asked Costa about this "weird" hiring, but got no response from the then mayor of Lisbon, and the case was forgotten. Alves didn't finished his work as an adviser because in 2013 he ran for Caminha city hall, which he narrowly won.

We'll see if this case has any repercussion or will it be just another one in the long list of controversies plaguing this government.

[Mike88]

Costa sues the former Governor of the Bank of Portugal for an accusation that Costa pressured the governor to protect Isabel dos Santos:

António Costa now accuses former Governor of the Bank of Portugal, Carlos Costa, of mounting a political campaign against him:

https://twitter.com/Lusa_noticias/status/1592873655943704577

Prime Minister accuses Carlos Costa of lying and mounting an operation against his character

The new book of the former Governor of the Bank of Portugal, Carlos Costa (2010-2020), continues to create a lot of headlines and tensions. The book presentation, full of PSD personalities, including the incumbent PSD leader Luís Montenegro, and very few PS personalities, one of them, Francisco Assis, even canceled his presence at the last minute, had Carlos Costa accusing PM Costa of interfering in the independence of the Bank of Portugal by pressuring the Bank to not remove disgraced Angolan businesswoman Isabel dos Santos from the board of BIC bank in Portugal. Costa confirmed a text sent by PM Costa to him, in the last few days, in which the latter confirms he thought it was inappropriate to remove Ms. dos Santos from the board of the bank, adding that this proves that António Costa put pressure on the Bank of Portugal.

PM Costa is very furious and upset with this accusation and he has been giving several statements accusing Carlos Costa of lying, and today, he also accused the former Governor of mounting a political campaign against his character, saying that "by each page read, there are more lies and lies" and that he will fight against the lies that Carlos Costa, he says, is throwing at him. The PS is also attacking the former governor, accusing Carlos Costa of "spite" and that he lacks statesmanship.

[Mike88]

President Marcelo receives a letter with a bullet inside and a request of 1 million euros. The President, however, downplays the incident:

https://twitter.com/Publico/status/1593149054065987585

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa received a letter with a bullet and a request for one million euros

The office of President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa received, in the last few days, a letter containing a bullet inside and a request of 1 million euros. The President wasn't in his office during the reception of the letter and the case is already being investigated by the police. However, President Marcelo is downplaying the incident. In remarks to CMTV, the President said it isn't the first time he receives threats, adding that he received more threats while he was PSD leader, in the 90's, and while he a political commentator, until 2016, than since he became President. He added that these things happen and that he's not giving that much importance.

[Mike88]

Another President Marcelo gaffe, this evening:

Qatar doesn't respect human rights. All the construction of the stadiums and such, but, whatever, let's forget about that. It's objectionable, but let's focus on the team. We started very well and ended on a high note.

The remarks were given to a RTP reporter after the Portugal vs Nigeria match this evening in Lisbon, which Portugal won 4-0.

[Mike88]

Another President Marcelo gaffe, this evening:

Qatar doesn't respect human rights. All the construction of the stadiums and such, but, whatever, let's forget about that. It's objectionable, but let's focus on the team. We started very well and ended on a high note.

The remarks were given to a RTP reporter after the Portugal vs Nigeria match this evening in Lisbon, which Portugal won 4-0.

President Marcelo is being very criticized for his statements, and the President now says he will only go to Qatar for the "national interest" and will speak on human rights there:

https://twitter.com/sapo/status/1593616331718692864

Marcelo only goes to Qatar "for the national interest" and to "talk about human rights". President explains statements about World Cup 2022

President Marcelo is being embarrassed, once again, for his controversial statements. His remark that "Qatar doesn't respect human right, but, whatever, let's forget about that", is being criticized by parties, associations and pundits who accuse the President of downplaying a serious issues, while other say that Marcelo, once again, put his foot in his mouth. President Marcelo was forced to correct, or rather explain, his remarks by saying that he's only going to Qatar because of the national interest, adding that he has visited several countries with no democratic regimes before. Plus, he added that he will talk about Human Rights in Qatar as he was also invited to speak in private foundations there.

[Mike88]

(...)According to the report, Ventura wants to centralize more and more power, within the party, in himself and this is creating internal clashes between Ventura and people who were very close to him.(...)

Once again, the Constitutional Court rejects CHEGA's new party structure and forces the party to remove powers from Ventura:

CHEGA has decided to accept the Court's decision and will call a new party congress for January 2023, but Ventura could face a leadership challenge:

CHEGA leader André Ventura has decided to accept the Constitutional Court's ruling regarding the party's statutes and will call a new party congress for January 2023. The date itself will be schedule in national council meeting in December. But, in this congress, Ventura could face a leadership challenge. Nuno Afonso, Ventura's former right hand man now turned foe, is considering running for the leadership and is asking Ventura to call a ballot in the party's congress in January 2023. Afonso accuses Ventura of a "legal mess" and of bluntly lying to party members.

We'll see the next episodes in the CHEGA soap opera.

[Mike88]

Change in tone in the PCP? Communist Party new leader, Paulo Raimundo, now admits that Russia indeed invaded Ukraine:

https://twitter.com/JornalPoligrafo/status/1593987717611884544

Raimundo initiates change: it was once "conflict" and "military operation", but now the war in Ukraine is really an "invasion"

Is PCP's new leader, Paulo Raimundo, changing the party's tone regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine? His last interview to JN newspaper and TSF radio suggests that the tone may be changing, but there are still contradictions. In that interview, Raimundo classified Russia's actions as an invasion, but that it was just the climax of an escalation prior to February 2022. The party's stance, until now, was totally aligned with Putin and Russia and very few used the term "invasion". However, in an another interview, to Lusa Agency, Raimundo labeled Putin as a "teased dog" and asked if it was "the dog's fault", and, in response to this, in the JN interview he said that if Russia is to blame, so is NATO, the EU and the US for escalating tensions.

Is this a change of strategy or just damage control? We'll see.

[Mike88]

After his controversial statements, Marcelo's trip to Qatar to see Portugal play in the World Cup is also creating some backlash:

https://twitter.com/RTPNoticias/status/1594703429670141952

Parliament votes trip of Marcelo to Qatar

If the President's controversial statements regarding Qatar were badly received, his trip, alongside PM Costa and Speaker Santos Silva, to see Portugal's 3 games for the Group Stage in the Qatar 2022 World Cup, is being very criticized for the timing and the excessive "footballization" of politics in Portugal. Parliament has to approve Marcelo's trip, and PS and PSD have already said they would vote in favour, but several PS and PSD members, and MPs, are advising the President, the PM and the Speaker to not travel to Qatar because of the violations of human rights and the way that Qatar "won" the organization of the Cup. Even so, the PS and PSD caucuses are not budging and warn that refusing a Presidential trip would be entering in "dangerous waters" adding that it would be completely unprecedented. PS and PSD approve the trip, as does PCP. CHEGA abstained while IL, BE, PAN and Livre criticize the President and voted against.

President Marcelo has been involved in a series of controversies, lately, that have been eroding his popularity. The last Intercampus poll, from October, has the President's approval rating bellow 50%:

President Marcelo approval: (Intercampus October poll compared with May)

45.0% Approve (-16.2)
26.3% Disapprove (+11.7)

[Mike88]

PS and PSD approve the trip, as does PCP. CHEGA abstained while IL, BE, PAN and Livre criticize the President and voted against.

In the Parliamentary vote regarding Marcelo's trip to Qatar, this morning, a few PS and PSD MPs broke their party's vote stance and either abstained or voted against. 4 PS MPs, Alexandra Leitão, Isabel Moreira, Carla Miranda and Pedro Delgado Alves voted against the trip, while another 3 abstained: Maria João Castro, Miguel Rodrigues and Eduardo Alves. In the PSD, 3 MPs also abstained: Hugo Carneiro, Antonio Topa and Fátima Ramos. In the end, the remaining PS and PSD MPs approved the trip, alongside PCP. CHEGA abstained, while IL, BE, PAN and Livre voted against.

CHEGA and IL engaged in a tense discussion with CHEGA accusing IL and BE of "hypocrisy" for only discovering Qatar's human rights violations now, while IL accused CHEGA of acting like they "smoked but did not inhale".

[𝕭𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖆 𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖔𝖑𝖆]

alongside PCP

Who's gonna tell them Qatar is not a Russia ally / US enemy?

[Mike88]

alongside PCP

Who's gonna tell them Qatar is not a Russia ally / US enemy?

Their reason for voting in favour: PCP does not support institutional boycotts.

[CumbrianLefty]

What was the PCP's attitude towards the 1984 Olympics I wonder.

[Mike88]

What was the PCP's attitude towards the 1984 Olympics I wonder.

Had to look it up, but found nothing. The only thing I found was the PCP criticism to a possible boycot of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, as they argued that Tibet is an integral part of China. At the time, some EU figures wanted to boycot the Games because of China's control over Tibet.

[Mike88]

(...)According to the report, Ventura wants to centralize more and more power, within the party, in himself and this is creating internal clashes between Ventura and people who were very close to him.(...)

Once again, the Constitutional Court rejects CHEGA's new party structure and forces the party to remove powers from Ventura:

CHEGA has decided to accept the Court's decision and will call a new party congress for January 2023, but Ventura could face a leadership challenge:

We'll see the next episodes in the CHEGA soap opera.

CHEGA removes its confidence from Nuno Afonso, Ventura's foe and Sintra councillor, because of Afonso's abstention in the local Sintra budget:

Nuno Afonso, Sintra councillor and Ventura's foe within CHEGA, has lost the confidence of his party after he abstained in the PS 2023 budget in Sintra city hall. The local Sintra budget passed with the votes of PS and CDU (6) and the opposition of the PSD/CDS coalition (4), while CHEGA abstained, thus allowing the budget to pass. Removal of confidence is basically an "expulsion" from a party as the person no longer represents the party in any circumstance. CHEGA accuses Nuno Afonso of violating the party's positions and proposed the removal of confidence, which was approved by Ventura.

Mr. Afonso signaled, in the last few weeks, that he was willing to challenge Ventura to the party's leadership, but now he says that he's considering filing a criminal process against CHEGA for persecution by political reasons. He adds that CHEGA has no democratic values and that those who don't tolerate the "totalitarian" path the party has taken is persecuted.

CHEGA now has 14 councillors, after 5 were "expelled" or left the party since October 2021. The party elected 19 councillors in the September 2021 local elections.