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The interview of the Minister of State and Finance, Mário Centeno, at TSF where he discussed the controversy over the transfer of 850 million euros to Novo Banco only received criticism on Tuesday. The minister assumed that there had been a delay in communicating with the Prime Minister about his ministry’s decision. This forced António Costa to apologize to the Bloco de Esquerda for giving incorrect information in Parliament.
It will be recalled that Costa made a new loan to the Resolution Fund (and, therefore, a capital injection in Novo Banco) depending on the completion of an audit. It only arrives in July. After all, the transfer was made last Wednesday, May 6.
The PSD, through the voice of Duarte Pacheco, considered that “something is wrong” and that “the prime minister is required to exercise his authority,” cited by Lusa.
The Left Block was also not convinced. At a press conference to discuss a supplementary budget that reinforces the National Health Service, Catarina Martins put up paintings to criticize the minister. “The problem is a failure in a political commitment,” said Catarina Martins, quoted by SIC-Notícias, referring to Costa’s commitment to Parliament. That is, it is not a communication failure. “It is much more serious than that,” he said. Another attack came from BE, that of MEP José Gusmão. “When there are so many communication failures, it is impossible to eliminate the feeling that the real failure is in politics and not in communication,” he wrote on Twitter.
For their part, the communists note the lack of coordination between the Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister and consider it “a serious element, especially when contrasted with the enormous difficulties because micro, small, and medium-sized companies go to access support. within the framework of covid-19 ”, as explained to the PCP deputy, Duarte Alves.
But, there are two more elements, which for the PCP are of the “highest severity”, in addition to the lack of articulation. “The first is the delivery of more than 850 million euros to Novo Banco, without guaranteeing public control over the bank, and the second is that the criteria established by the Government are not even respected,” that is, the transfer It will only be authorized after the Deloitte audit is known.
Regarding the BE proposal, the PCP stresses that it will have to know the project, but Duarte Alves recalls that, in theory, the Communists welcome all the measures aimed at greater control by the Assembly of the Republic. The PCP insists on its proposal of always public control of the bank: “We understand that you should not continue burying millions of Portuguese in the Novo Banco, without putting yourself at the service of the country.”
PAN, through the voice of its spokesman André Silva, was not lacking in the comments either. “The case of transferring the 850 million euros to Novo Banco without the Prime Minister is an artificial crisis that Mário Centeno and António Costa are interested in feeding.” In addition, “Mário Centeno won the alibi that he had been looking for months to be able to leave the Ministry of Finance and assume the position of Governor of the Banco de Portugal, something that the whole country knows he has wanted for months,” defended André Silva. However, the PAN will call the Governor of the Banco de Portugal, Carlos Costa, and the President of Novo Banco, António Ramalho. The goal is to hear from you about accounts and supervision.
On the centrist side, Cecília Meireles considers that “the problem is much deeper than the lack of coordination of the Government” and will be “incomprehensible”. For the former parliamentary leader of the CDS, “the Minister of Finance went on to say that the contracts must be fulfilled, but at the same time he says that he transfers 850 million euros to Novo Banco, because the contracts must be fulfilled, It is at the same time that we know For example, that of the 5 billion euros of credit lines, which according to the Prime Minister are already approved, only 8 percent are hired and are in fact in companies. “
This Wednesday, Centeno will be in Parliament and on Thursday there will be a debate on the stability program, two more moments for Mário Centeno to face the deputies.
