Betrayal of the country? PS warns that Chega is committing the crime of aggravated defamation of the President of the Republic

Socialist deputy Isabel Moreira today accused Chega of consciously acting against the honorability of the President of the Republic by accusing him of treason against the country, warning that aggravated defamation of the head of state could be at stake.

This position was conveyed by Isabel Moreira in the Constitutional Affairs Committee – and was later also highlighted by PCP deputy António Filipe -, before Chega’s draft resolution vote condemning the words spoken by the President of the Republic was rejected by a large majority. , Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, on alleged reparations to former colonies for Portugal’s historical past.

In the vote, Chega’s initiative was rejected by all the remaining political forces represented in the Constitutional Affairs Committee: PSD, PS, Liberal Initiative, Left Bloc, PCP, Livre and PAN.

For Chega’s part, Rodrigo Taxa argued that “Portugal is a builder of nations” and that the President of the Republic “ignored those returning from overseas and former combatants”. Soon after, he heard the Left Bloc deputy Joana Mortágua tell him that “betrayal of the country is a very serious thing for a party like Chega to be playing with it just to carry out political guerrilla warfare against the President of the Republic”.

Isabel Moreira defended that this initiative, if it were not a voting project, would not have been admitted for discussion, since the Assembly of the Republic cannot condemn the Presidency of the Republic.

“There is a separation of powers, but Chega pretends he doesn’t know that. He’s just playing a political game”, he attacked. But the constitutionalist went further: “Chega consciously acts against the honorability of the President of the Republic”, which constitutes something “highly defamatory and even serious”.

Pedro Neves de Sousa, PSD deputy, considered that the proposed vote in question “is part of the continuation of Chega’s political cavalcade against the nation’s highest magistrate”.

“Only out of bad faith or total ignorance can one speak of betrayal of the country by the President of the Republic. This initiative does not dignify parliament. If Chega wants to create an institutional crisis, it cannot count on the PSD”, he added.

The communist deputy began by using humor to criticize Chega’s vote project.

“If the PCP were to collect the PR’s statements that it disagrees with, they would bring here a veritable yearbook.” Afterwards, he made a direct attack on Chega: “We are not here to play with the people’s money, deputies are paid to do serious things and not to make fun of those who work”, he declared.

António Filipe then noted that the crime of insulting the President of the Republic “is foreseen and punished in the Penal Code”

Patrícia Gilvaz, from the Liberal Initiative, classified the President of the Republic’s positions on reparations to former colonies as inadequate, but separated herself from Chega by saying that the head of state “is free to express his position”.

“We cannot enter Chega’s political game”, concluded Patrícia Gilvaz. For Livre’s part, deputy Paulo Muacho said he was facing “another Chega number”.

“And the text of this vote project immediately reveals ignorance regarding our History”, he added.

At today’s meeting of the Constitutional Affairs Committee, the PSD and Chega disapproved a draft vote by the Left Bloc welcoming the European Parliament’s decision in defense of the inclusion of the right to abortion in the European Charter of Fundamental Rights. An initiative that had the support of the PS, Liberal Initiative, Livre and PCP, in addition to BE.

On the PSD’s part, deputy Pedro Neves de Sousa downplayed the BE’s initiative, but added that the Social Democrats defend the current legal framework in matters of abortion.