Aguiar-Branco claims that the intention is to create confusion with land and real estate law

The President of the Assembly of the Republic stated today that the intention is to create a climate of confusion among citizens with controversies over the land law and politicians with stakes in real estate companies.

José Pedro Aguiar-Branco was speaking to journalists in parliament, after being asked about the most recent cases that affected several members of the Government, including the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, regarding shares in companies, namely in the real estate sector, or about potential interests in the revision of the so-called land law.

“These most recent situations confuse everything. And confusion is the first step towards creating an atmosphere of suspicion towards everyone, which is wrong, because it degrades the environment for the exercise of civic intervention,” he declared.

Regarding the most recent controversies that have affected members of the PSD/CDS executive and also deputies, the president of parliament considers it to be “obvious that the intention is to create confusion”.

“And by mixing together the various situations that were the subject of discussion, whether in the Assembly of the Republic, in the public space, or in [opinion] articles, everything gets confused,” he responded.

For the President of the Assembly of the Republic, “all situations are confused, specifically in the case of the land law, which is under debate – and it is deliberately confused, because not everyone involved in the discussion actually wants to see what the merits or demerits of the law are”.

Faced with the fact that the leader of Chega, André Ventura, had also named him as one of the politicians who holds a stake in a real estate company, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco reacted: “I don't even value that, because it falls into the realm of such confusion, into the realm in which they want to confuse everything”.

Without ever specifying political forces, the President of the Assembly of the Republic observed that, in recent times, the discussion around a certain norm “has slipped into the debate of what it seems – and not into the debate of what it actually is”.

“The debate is being cut short, appearing only in a certain context, which gives people the wrong impression. This has one objective: to create an image of less trust in parliament, of less trust in those who govern us, and thereby create what is worst for democracy, which is confusion,” he stressed.

José Pedro Aguiar-Branco declared himself a defender of transparency in political activity, with an effective framework for punishment in objective cases of violation of norms, but criticized those who try to extend the norms of incompatibility and conflict of interests to the absurd.

At this point, the president of parliament went even further: “Often there really is just voyeurism.”

“When someone enters political office, even if they are in absolutely no situation that requires particular scrutiny, everything is exposed: their assets, their financial situation, everything that has to do with a private collection, even if there is no suspicion whatsoever,” he criticized.

The president of parliament later noted that he has been in politics for more than 20 years.

“I have always been scrutinized. Therefore, I am comfortable speaking in this way. But the truth is that the level of exposure is often gratuitous. It seems that those who have more to do with their lives outside of politics, who have had a private activity, who have always guided their lives by impeccable conduct are now prevented from participating in politics,” he said.

José Pedro Aguiar-Branco identified that, progressively, “this demagogic dimension was created in which, even when there are no situations that fall within the scope of the incompatibilities regime, an atmosphere is generated that confuses the wheat and the chaff”.

“In this way, good people are not available to participate” in political life, he added.