Rui Rocha says the country is 'abandoning' Costa and PR has put the government 'on schedule'

“What we really want is that after the next elections the country can become a different country because the model of governance that we have from António Costa, the model of society, the model of economy is exhausted and we even see that António Costa has already renounced the country and the country is also renouncing António Costa", declared, in an interview with the Lusa agency, Rui Rocha, elected president of IL two weeks ago during a highly divided and tense elective convention.

In Rui Rocha's analysis, this withdrawal is evident in the essential core of António Costa's support when we see "teachers in the street or doctors calling for a strike", that is, a "big challenge" to the Chief Executive "coming from within his natural bases". support, particularly in the public service".

"I think that the civil servants themselves realize that this management model goes against their own interests," he said, anticipating "a wind of change".

After passing a sort of 'death certificate' to a 'completely exhausted and politically dead' government in the convention's closing speech, IL's new president reiterates that there are signs of 'rapid deterioration' in the socialist executive, but refuses to do it futurology.

"The absolute majority is useless in the country, but it can help António Costa to keep the seat well beyond the expiry date of his political solutions", he admits.

Rui Rocha is keen to mention that the President of the Republic himself, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, “has put this government by absolute majority on term, placing 2023 as a year in which work must be presented”.

“President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa spoke of a majority that was not for Labor and gives this last opportunity to the António Costa government, in 2023, to become an absolute majority for Labor. I believe that the President of the Republic is a little more optimistic than me”, he said, insisting on the fact that this government and its Prime Minister “are not reformable”.

After the Liberal leader was highly critical of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa's performance last year in the global strategy motion that led to the convention, Rui Rocha stresses that "the President of the Republic does not has not yet renounced António Costa because he is putting on hold, but clearly has a less benevolent view of what the exercise of government is”.

"As the Prime Minister said, the government has understood and I believe that the President of the Republic has finally understood that," he said.

Asked about the government solution found after the 2015 legislative elections, the so-called "trick", the leader of the IL maintains that it was "an expedient used by António Costa at the time to put himself in power ".

“We saw clearly, despite the promises, that António Costa, when he now had an absolute majority, had said that he was going to involve the bogus parties in these solutions, I believe that he did not do it . At least the PCP and the Bloco de Esquerda complained a lot about this,” he adds.

JF // JPS