The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Pedro Duarte, accused the opposition this Friday of intending to sabotage and boycott the executive’s decisions with a “negative coalition” formed in parliament, when commenting on the revocation of the decision to end advertising on RTP.
“There are two points here that are surprising: the first is that we have a Government that wants to push the country forward, wants to transform the country for the better and we have a negative coalition in parliament, of different forces, which seems to have as its ultimate objective obstruct, sabotage, boycott what the Government wants to accomplish”, maintained Pedro Duarte, in Porto, on the sidelines of a session with the Prime Minister.
The second point, continued Pedro Duarte, is that it is “a little unheard of to attempt through the State Budget to have political proclamations, which are legitimate, but which should not be made in a budgetary context”.
“This particular measure has no implication on the State Budget, it has not yet been taken by the Government, it is within the scope of the public service contract to be signed between the Government and RTP and will certainly be (implemented) in the coming months , and it will still take time to reach that moment”, he pointed out.
The minister, who participated in the inauguration ceremony for the requalification of the Porto University Stadium, which was also attended by Luís Montenegro and the Minister of Education, Fernando Alexandre, commented on a proposal from the Bloco de Esquerda, approved in the afternoon in parliament, to revoke the government decision to end advertising on RTP.
The blockers’ proposal was made possible with the favorable votes of the PS, Chega, IL, PCP, BE, Livre and PAN and the vote against of the parties that make up the AD coalition (PSD and CDS-PP), on the first day of voting. in the specialty of the State Budget proposal for 2025 (OE2025).
For the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, the approval of the bloc proposal also translated into “a distortion, for purely political reasons, of a tool and an instrument that is important for the country”.
Pedro Duarte insisted that “no Government proposal was rejected”, noting that “there is a manifestation of intentions that, if implemented, will be in a contract between the Government and RTP”. “It does not go through parliament and much less through the State Budget”, he highlighted.
Asked whether the end of advertising on RTP could be rethought, the minister replied that all measures could be rethought.
“But, from the final objective we will not waver (…) this Government’s predisposition is to give value to the public social communication service, whether through Lusa or through RTP, and we will certainly be able to achieve our goals” , he said.
The maintenance of advertising on RTP is also included in proposals to amend OE2025 from other opposition parties, which are yet to be voted on.
The measure responds to the intention of the Government, which in the presentation of the Action Plan for the Media indicated that it intended to progressively end advertising on RTP within a three-year time horizon.
Source: www.jornaldenegocios.pt
