The national direction of Chega has decided to advance judicially against PM António Costa after he called the party “extreme right, xenophobic, racist” and “the worst that exists in Europe”.
Seemingly not content with pulling off a coup in the Azores, Chega is going for the head of government on the mainland, maintaining he alluded to the party being a criminal organisation.
The truth is the Portuguese Constitution doesn’t permit parties ‘espousing racist, fascist or regionalist values’. Therefore, in Chega’s mindset, Mr Costa should not have suggested that such a party has managed to get representation in parliament.
Said a communiqué from the national direction: “Chega is a legitimate party, legalised by the Portuguese Constitutional Court and therefore could never have the criminal characteristics listed” by Mr Costa.
It’s unclear what kind of ‘judicial case’ has been lodged against the PM. There has been no mention of the ‘d’ word (defamation: still a ‘crime’ in Portugal).
The communiqué suggests “António Costa will have to answer for the claims he made before the Supreme Tribunal of Justice”.
Chega adds that it means to deliver “a vote of formal condemnation against the prime minister in the Assembly of the Republic (parliament)”, accusing his “lamentable declarations” of trying to undermine the pact Chega made to help the centre-right ‘seize power’ in the Azores after inconclusive elections (click here).
The Azores PSD leader José Manuel Boloeiro has indeed succeeded in undermining the lacklustre PS ‘victory’, forming a centre-right coalition with support offered by Chega and Iniciativa Liberal.
Mr Costa’s words, concludes Chega, just show how he started to ‘lose the plot and become dishonest’ at a moment when he saw ‘power slipping from his hands’.
