José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, president of the Assembly of the Republic (AR), considered, this Friday in statements to Antena 1, that the Attorney General of the Republic (PGR), Lucília Gago, should go to Parliament to give explanations about the processes that caused political crises - namely the falls of the Governments of António Costa and the Autonomous Region of Madeira. According to the second figure of the Portuguese State, the intention would be to avoid a possible climate of suspicion. However, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco also added that he does not believe that "there is a premeditated conduct, on the Left or on the Right, to create political facts through criminal investigation". "None of us wants to believe that there is a premeditated conduct on the Left or on the Right to cause a certain political fact through a criminal investigation, but the truth is that no one lives alone in the world and it needs to be explained, because if it is explained and if the situation when explained makes it clear that there is no suspicion, I think we are contributing to these two worlds coexisting in a healthier way for democracy", he said. The parties have (already) reacted and, on the Left, Livre, PAN, BE and PCP defend that Lucília Gago should go to the AR, while, on the Right, Chega has already spoken out against the hearing of the Attorney General of the Republic.

Livre does not oppose, but wants to "understand" the request

For Livre, it was deputy Jorge Pinto who reacted, this Friday, to the statements of the president of the Assembly of the Republic. "We are well aware of the importance of the separation of powers and that is why we need to better understand the scope of this desire that the President of the Assembly of the Republic has to call Lucília Gago to Parliament". "We are going to propose that this be discussed in the leaders' assembly so that we can understand what the scope is and, thus, have a final opinion on the validity of this call", he said, in statements to journalists. Asked if the party would admit to calling the PGR to the Assembly, Livre considered that the best way for these explanations would be with consensus in the leaders' conference: "Although not unprecedented, it is rare to call an Attorney General to Parliament, and therefore we do not want to make this a common practice. But we do not oppose this desire. We just need to better understand the scope and discuss it. This convocation cannot be made solely and exclusively by will", reiterated Jorge Pinto.

"The PGR has to be more proactive in contacting the population"

Inês de Sousa Real, from PAN, said this Friday that she is in favor of the hearing of the Attorney General of the Republic in Parliament, but considered that there is a deeper transformation to be made regarding the communication made by the PGR. "It is important that Justice changes the way it speaks to citizens. Because it is one thing to do this hearing here in the Assembly, and it is another thing to make judicial decisions, in particular the investigations of major cases in which the Attorney General's Office has to be more proactive in its contact with the population and in the explanations regarding this type of process and accusations", Sousa Real told reporters. The leader of PAN considered this change "fundamental", so as not to feed populism.

"If the PGR remains in the dungeon, BE will ensure that she comes to the AR"

Fabian Figueiredo, parliamentary leader of the Left Bloc, spoke about the 'summons' left by the president of the Assembly of the Republic, considering that "if the PGR remains locked up in her dungeons, continues to be evasive, thinking that in the 21st century it is possible to administer justice as she has done", the party "will seek a broader field to ensure that the Attorney General comes to the Assembly of the Republic". In statements in Parliament, he also noted that the Left Bloc "has demanded" since the controversy began that the Attorney General of the Republic provide explanations. "In 50 years of Democracy, Portugal has never witnessed a similar episode", he considered, reinforcing that it was the PGR's "evasive" statement that led to the resignation of the previous government. Fabian Figueiredo said that Lucília Gago should "take good note" of these statements by the president of the Assembly, and make herself available to go to Parliament to provide clarifications.

"The autonomy of the MP is a fundamental principle of the rule of law"

For the PCP, deputy António Filipe said he expects Lucília Gago to make herself available to provide clarifications in parliament on the actions of the MP and clarified that the communists will not submit any request but will not make it unfeasible if it is presented by another political force. However, for the PCP, "there are some points of principle that must be made clear: the PGR is not politically accountable to the AR; the autonomy of the MP is a fundamental principle of the democratic rule of law and must be respected and the PGR cannot and should not provide clarifications on specific processes".

"Calling prosecutors to Parliament is a bad path"

On the contrary, André Ventura, from Chega, said this Friday that "calling prosecutors is a bad path", opposing the statements of the president of the Assembly of the Republic, Aguiar-Branco. "The recklessness of these words [by Aguiar-Branco] is absolute. It would mean that whenever a judicial process affects top-line political actors or protagonists, the Attorney General would have to come to Parliament to explain these processes", Ventura told reporters. "More than being absurd, it has a pernicious effect", he continued, saying that it gives the justice system the idea "that when you mess with the wrong people, you are called to the attention of Parliament". "We have to understand that justice has its time and that does not mean that it does not have to give justifications", he said, adding that "calling prosecutors to Parliament is a bad path".

Read Also: Cases that create political crises? PGR should go to the AR to "explain" (Portuguese version)