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In Parliament, at the same time that Costa arrived at Autoeuropa, Centeno guaranteed that the injection of 850 million into Novo Banco had not been carried out “by default” by the prime minister. I mean, Costa knew that. “There is no decision that does not go through the Government and the Council of Ministers and we have not decided on disastrous resolutions on the beach,” he said. Centeno admitted, however, that the support sheet on the subject had reached the prime minister a couple of hours late, that is, he would not be in possession of António Costa when he made that intervention in the biweekly debate in which he declared that there would be no more money for Novo Banco without the result of the ongoing special audit.
The Minister of Finance, however, did not clarify whether he had communicated to the Prime Minister that the injection in question – 850 million loans to the Resolution Fund to inject 1035 million euros in Novo Banco – could not be conditioned on the conclusion and the result. of the Special Audit of credits that generate losses. It would have to be done before, until May 6, the last day of the term established in the contract, under penalty of default by the State. Also, as the Observer explains, the audit conclusion should be completed in May, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it would have been postponed.
The injection into Novo Banco was not carried out “by default” by António Costa. Centeno’s guarantee does not convince the opposition
But the President of the Republic clearly chose a side and did not forgive. Despite knowing that “the Portuguese State does what it has to do, and if the commitment was made, it had to do it”, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa left the Minister of Finance with force. “If there is, and well, an audit that covers the period 2000 to 2018, it makes a lot of sense what the Prime Minister said in Parliament: it is politically different for the State to take responsibility days before the conclusions of the audit are known , or if so, full days before the State assumes responsibility, “he told reporters. That is, Costa well, Centeno mal?
“The final audit process was announced for May. The Prime Minister did very well in Parliament when he said that it made sense for the State to fulfill its responsibilities, but, of course, if the audit was completed beforehand, “he continued. In other words, does that mean Costa was fine and Centeno was bad? “It means what I said. There was an audit to be completed in May of this year. For the Portuguese, it is not irrelevant to keep commitments with the exact knowledge of what happened in a certain process, or to keep commitments and, later, to know how that process went ”. One thing is one thing, another thing is another thing. “It is politically different,” he insisted.
New bank case. Marcelo praises Costa and ignores Centeno: “The Prime Minister did very well in Parliament”
The President of the Republic would still be questioned on the subject again, but the music was over. “I have nothing more to say, what I said was very clear.” Costa took advantage of this support and turned himself in to end it: “After the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister has nothing to add.” It’s like that, isn’t it? It would be, in normal terms. But one last dance step was missing. As António Costa had escaped the questions of the journalists and the issue of Centeno / Novo Banco, Marcelo took a step back and Costa took a step towards the microphone. “After the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister has nothing to add, except to add that, being optimistic, I have no doubts about what will happen next year ”. It was the final step of the choreography. New feigned bank, here is the new request.
The movement seemed rehearsed. “A new tradition has been established of the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic joining Autoeuropa. So it was in 2016, in the first year of the President of the Republic, so it was also in the last year of the current period, ”said António Costa, opening the carpet for what was to come. And what was coming was an invitation from Autoeuropa workers to return there, at a later date, and have lunch with the workers, in the factory cafeteria.
Invitation accepted And Costa even had a date on the tip of his tongue for this lunch: “If we came here in the first year of the current term of the President of the Republic, and now we come back here in the last year of the term, the third date is obvious: it is the first year of the next term of the President of the Republic, and from now on I invite you to accompany the President of the Republic to come here during the year and share that meal.“The President of the Republic has already tried the codfish paste, but he was eager to try the whole meal.”
And so it was, after a Driving test to Volkswagen cars, each in its own case, that António Costa not only launched the new presidential candidacy of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa but, incidentally, It left little doubt that the PS will admit this same reapplication.
