The Prime Minister stated this Monday that he will “exhaust all possibilities” of dialogue so that the Budget is made viable, “in the most appropriate formats” for each occasion, saying that there is a tradition of meetings with political leaders without the knowledge of the media.
Luís Montenegro was asked about the meetings he held today with the leaders of Chega and IL, meetings not disclosed to the media, after a meeting in São Bento with the Attorney General of the Republic, Lucília Gago, the Ministers of Internal Administration and Justice, respectively Margarida Blasco and Rita Alarcão Júdice, with the national director of the Judicial Police, Luís Neves, and with the general commander of the GNR, Lieutenant General Rui Veloso.
“The Prime Minister receives many entities or representatives of entities and many personalities at his official residence on a weekly basis. And he also receives political leaders from time to time. There are many, not only those he mentioned, but also those who have already been here in recent months,” he said, adding that, when he was leader of the opposition, he also visited São Bento a few times without the media knowing.
Montenegro even argued that these discreet meetings are “a sign of democratic normality and democratic maturity” that must be maintained.
“The Government will patiently, committedly, openly and in a dialogue-based manner exhaust all possibilities so that the State Budget proposal is not rendered unviable in the Assembly of the Republic. And, therefore, we will do everything we can to engage in dialogue with the political parties, in the formats that are most appropriate on each occasion,” he said.
On the same issue, the Prime Minister was asked to clarify who is telling the truth about the difficulty in scheduling a meeting with the PS secretary-general, which on Sunday night generated an exchange of statements between Luís Montenegro and Pedro Nuno Santos.
“Firstly, as Prime Minister, and as a citizen, I value always telling the truth. I have already had the opportunity to convey, in a statement, the difficulty I had in scheduling a meeting with the Secretary General of the PS”, insisted Montenegro.
Secondly, he repeated the idea conveyed in another statement from his office: that in São Bento “there are no secret meetings”, but only some that are “known in advance and are monitored by the media”.
“The Government is committed to providing the country with a State Budget for 2025 that is in line with the Government’s programme and that serves the interests of the country and the interests of the people”, he added, in a short response.
On Sunday, the first meeting was scheduled between the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, and the Secretary General of the PS, Pedro Nuno Santos, to discuss the 2025 State Budget, which will take place on Friday, at 3:00 pm, after an exchange of accusations between the two parties, via statement, about the difficulty of agreeing on the date of the meeting, which the socialists demanded to be made public.
Today, it was reported that Montenegro received the leaders of Chega, André Ventura, and IL, Rui Rocha, in undisclosed meetings in São Bento.
After the meeting with Ventura was reported by CNN, the prime minister’s office issued a statement saying that “there are no secret meetings at the prime minister’s official residence.”
“There are meetings with entities and personalities from various areas, including political leaders, on topics of national interest, which often take place discreetly and without the presence of the media,” the text reads.
Today, on the sidelines of a visit to the areas affected by the fires in Oliveira de Azeméis, Aveiro, Pedro Nuno Santos PS stressed that it is essential for the socialists that any meeting they have with the Government is made public in advance.
“There are not, nor can there be, secret meetings,” he argued.
Lusa/end
Source: www.jornaldenegocios.pt
