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Marques Mendes defends that the political power “gave bad examples” in the approach to the May 1 celebrations. “What remains for all citizens is that some apply rules, others make exceptions”, The former Social Democratic leader said, adding that “this undermines the credibility of political power” and that the episode could end up causing some people to not respect the authorities’ instructions due to outrage.
For Marques Mendes, the “bad examples” were divided on two occasions: first, when it was recommended to avoid the concentrations and crowds of people, but an exception was made for May 1; and then when he again made an exception for the CGTP buses that traveled to Lisbon to participate in the celebrations, during a weekend when traveling between municipalities was prohibited. Still, the former PSD leader “acknowledged” that CGTP made an “effort” to comply with health standards.
In the usual comment space after Jornal da Noite, at SIC, Luís Marques Mendes considered that the Catholic Church had “common sense and a great sense of responsibility” in the decision to suspend the May 13 celebrations: good sense and a sense of responsibility that, as indicated, “lacked CGTP and political power.”
At the gradual start of the return to activity, which begins this Monday, he said that the progressive decontamination plan presented by the Government is “well designed and well structured.” Even so, the former Social Democratic leader realized a critical point, that of public transport, which requires “a civic sense of the people and constant supervision by the authorities”, and an omission “understandable at this stage”, the issue of households, where the elderly population cannot receive visitors. “The elderly do not die of disease to die of isolation and loneliness”, Stressed Luis Marques Mendes also described three “fundamental conditions” for the success of this phase: civic discipline, trust and the reopening of the various economies in Europe. “Reopening the activity is more difficult than closing. The essential condition is citizenship ”
As a balance of the political response to the first phase of the crisis, Marques Mendes guaranteed that there were “good and bad examples”. The good ones are mainly in health, due to the “heroic task of health professionals”, the “transparency” and the “political and social consensus”, swollen by an “innovative and important idea” of the Prime Minister, the Infarmed meetings with epidemiologists; and the bad guys are in the economy, “especially in dismissal“Whose execution was a” disaster. “As for the two protagonists, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and António Costa, he defended that both were” globally well “and that there was” institutional strength “, which generates” confidence “in the citizens. Marques Mendes also revealed that, this Monday, Jornal de Notícias and TSF will have a Pythagorean survey that places the approval of citizens of the Prime Minister at 74%. “With this popularity, [António Costa] it will have the approved budgets and it will have guaranteed that the Government stays until the end of the legislature, something that was not guaranteed for two months “, before the pandemic, he fired.
Regarding the eventual nationalization of TAP, the former PSD president stressed that there are mainly two problems: the “lack of liquidity” and the “lack of trust” between the State and the other shareholders. Thus, Luís Marques Mendes guarantees that the Government will have to make a decision when TAP “no later than the end of May” and explains that there are three key factors that must be taken into account: the amount to be injected into the national airline, the solution to be adopted (which, according to the politician, will not be nationalization or a loan with state guarantees)) and control of management. “The solution may involve a combination of injected money, which may come through a capital increase, and a second part, another capital injection, which may be through the issuance of bonds convertible into shares,” he explained.
Finally, Marques Mendes commented on a topic that made headlines during the week. Cláudia Santos, deputy to the Assembly of the Republic by the PS, is part of the list of new candidates by Fernando Gomes for the presidency of the Portuguese Football Federation, in the position of president of the Disciplinary Council of the body that regulates the Portuguese soccer. According to the politician, there is already a draft opinion for approval by the Transparency Commission of the Assembly of the Republic. For the Social Democrat, this is a “serious example of the degradation of political life” and the MP should suspend or renounce his mandate in Parliament, since The accumulation of positions “may even be legal”, but it is “ethically objectionable” and represents the “promiscuity and dangerous connection” between politics and soccer.
Marques Mendes also highlighted the sale of Brisa by the José de Mello Group and the Arcus investment fund, a “large-scale operation”. “Even more, done in times of crisis, it is remarkable. It is a commitment to foreign investment in Portugal, even in times of crisis, which is a sign of confidence, “he concluded.
