After talks that lasted four and a half hours this afternoon, the Council of State called by President Marcelo came to a close without any ‘conclusions’ being publicised. A statement circulated to journalists at the end of the meeting said simply that “the Council of State, convened under the presidency of his excellency the President of the Republic, today, July 21, 2023, in Belém Palacce in Lisbon had as its central theme ‘the analysis of the political, economic and social situation’”. The message belied the content of the meeting, that subsequent reports explained saw intense criticism of the government. In fact, the meeting was brought to a halt by António Costa ‘being called away’… to New Zealand (!), from which locality he has doggedly refused to discuss what went on in Belém on Friday afternoon…
