Sao Tome, Sept. 3, (Lusa) - Portugal's prime minister said on Thursday that the motion of no confidence tabled by Chega against the government was part of a «mere political manoeuvre» that lacked substance, and noted that the opposition's political responsibility was also under scrutiny.
Luís Montenegro conveyed this position in remarks to journalists before attending the inauguration ceremony of the re-elected President of the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Príncipe, Carlos Vila Nova.
For the prime minister, Chega's motion of no confidence in the government «is a moment that democracy must face with a sense of responsibility» on the part of all those involved.
«As far as the government is concerned, what falls within our remit is the responsibility to govern, to resolve problems, to find solutions to the issues that concern the Portuguese people and to the projects that can build a better future. We are therefore awaiting confirmation of the date and time when we must appear before parliament to respond to this motion of no confidence and demonstrate that it is without merit, that it forms part of a mere political manoeuvre and is not focused on resolving the people's problems,» stated Luís Montenegro.
He then issued an indirect warning to the leader of Chega, the party that tabled the motion of no confidence over the retention of Luís Neves as Portugal's minister for internal affairs.
«The opposition parties will be all the more capable of presenting themselves as alternatives if they demonstrate a sense of responsibility, because everyone prefers a country to be governed by someone, or by political forces, who possess a sense of responsibility, a sense of the state that puts the interests of the whole before private interests. And when you are in opposition, you also have the opportunity to demonstrate this,» he stated.
Luís Montenegro went on to observe that those in government «have a greater responsibility to demonstrate whether the results they set out to achieve have, in fact, been attained».
«But those in opposition are also under scrutiny. And not everything that seems very favourable to the opposition's standing necessarily translates into future support,» he warned.
In his indirect remarks directed at André Ventura, the prime minister went a step further, emphasising the importance of responsibility.
«Indeed, some focus more on the media and news game, in a sort of competition to see who gets there first, who appears most often. In Portuguese party politics, I see many leaders thinking about what they need to do to outshine the others, what they need to do to take up more space, so that people talk less about others and more about themselves,» he said.
He then drew a conclusion: «I think that is very self-centred; it is very selfish from a political and party perspective.» PMF/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
