António Costa confirmed that he was not aware of the “secret meeting” that involved members of the Government, the group of MPs of the PS and with the CEO of TAP, but he said that at the time he was Secretary of State and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs. “it was very often there should be meetings to prepare the discussions”.
“You should know about dimension of things”, said the government official about the same meeting, justifying that “TAP’s real problem is that it must complete the reform plan”.
The Prime Minister reiterated the idea that he wants the parliamentary committee to investigate TAP to “find out the whole truth” and that “remove results there is everything that needs to be recorded” at the end of the points, but when asked about the relationship between the Government and TAP, he clearly said that “the Government should not interfere with the daily life of companies”.
And he said more, looking at an example from the time he was mayor of Lisbon when he received employees from a municipal company: ” work problems it is controlled by management rather than shareholders [autarquia] and I have the same understanding about the Government.”
Regarding the legal research committee, the Prime Minister said that “it is very important for the country where the institutions are working”, remembering that the Parliament of the Republic must fulfill the task of monitoring what the Government and the leadership emphasize. that ” it is important that [a CPI] setting up work and [se aguarde] safely for sentences.”
The Prime Minister, who made a different comment on the matter related to the CPI saying that the knowledge of the email of Hugo Mendes would have caused him to resign on the spot, says that the relationship between the Executive and public companies should be looked at. on”Cultural principles important” and that public companies should not be “distracted by policy”.
“Government companies that belong to the Government and have a business management which must be confirmed by the authorities. What is up to the Government is to establish good management practices, to approve work plans, to monitor the performance of the companies and to check the accounts and the interdependence of the authorities”, he explained, giving as an example the case of Caixa Geral de Depósitos. and the “exemplary relationship” that exists between the Government and the “company which is 100% government funded”.
Costa says Hugo Mendes’ email about Marcelo’s escape is “very serious” and will result in his immediate sacking.