Augusto Santos Silva says layoffs are straining the government and the economy

The President of the Assembly of the Republic, Augusto Santos Silva, says that the successive resignations of ministers and state secretaries are exhausting the government, but he believes that they do not undermine confidence in Parliament.

In an interview with Diario de Noticias and Radio TSF, Augusto Santos Silva considered, however, that the resignations “do not in any way undermine” the confidence of the Portuguese in Parliament.

“It does not corrode at all. This is a government problem, there is no doubt about it. (…) Corrosion is a stronger expression, but we could use a more neutral expression that corrodes government. This also seems to me to be a guide,” he said. Asked what the government should do from now on, Augusto Santos Silva emphasized that in his role, as President of the DRC, what he can guarantee is that Parliament performs its functions, in particular its role in the inspection.

This, says the AR chief, “so that any problem that may exist in the future, the work of the government can be discussed publicly and also (…) contribute to the government to govern because oversight does not mean what in common parlance is called ‘systematic demolition'”.

“One of the great advantages that Portugal enjoys, at a very difficult time from an economic, social and even European perspective for international peace and security, is political stability and good institutional cooperation between all sovereign bodies. The country cannot lose this advantage.. The country has to face this Problems taking advantage of your stability.

In terms of establishing a pre-screening process for government officials in Portugal before they are appointed, Augusto Santos Silva says it could help a lot.

“I know that it is humanly impossible for us to know everything about the past of the people we invite to work with us. Therefore, there is a mechanism that allows us to be confident that the person we invite does not withhold information from us that we should know that this mechanism is useful. It should It operates and applies with the necessary balance, we do not have the American or English tradition, in the United Kingdom, even the opposition party has shadow ministers and their nominees for the various members of the government,” he said.

In the understanding of Augusto Santos Silva, the mechanism must be balanced so as not to exacerbate the problem that the country is already suffering from today, which is the employment of qualified people for the public administration.

“We must not exclude the most qualified people, and we must not exacerbate this problem that we already have. And it is very important to say that it is not a problem of PS, it is a problem of all government parties currently. Not only PS,” he stressed that the PSD and CDS, which operated some Governments over time, but also the Palestinian Communist Party, for example, which has important functions in municipalities, but like Chega and IL, which have responsibilities in one of the autonomous regions.

According to the AR President, the audit should be a measure, if any, that must be applied before the proposal is submitted to the President of the Republic.

In the interview, Augusto Santos Silva does not rule out the possibility of running for Belém, but says that it is not yet time to talk about it.

He pointed out that “it is a question that cannot be answered now. Let us wait quietly until 2025. Now I am the President of the Assembly of the Republic and this is what I focus on.”

Augusto Santos Silva confirmed that what is in his plans now is to contribute so that the political region to which he belongs has a strong candidacy for the post of President of the Republic.

“I think the republic needs a strong candidacy in my political field,” he said.

DD//SB

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