It’s revenge for former Portuguese Prime Minister (2015-2023) Antonio Costa. The European heads of state and government chose to appoint the socialist leader as President of the European Council on Thursday June 27. At 62, his moderate profile, combining the classic values of social democracy and an orthodox approach to the economy, was able to convince the Twenty-Seven.
Nothing was won ten days ago. ” It’s certain, [Antonio Costa] is competent. But we need to clarify the legal context”launched Donald Tusk, the Polish Prime Minister (EPP, right) on June 17, referring to the legal setbacks which forced Mr. Costa to resign as head of the Portuguese government on November 7, 2023.
However, the matter had deflated for several weeks and no longer seemed to represent an obstacle to the appointment of the Portuguese. Certainly, Mr. Costa’s chief of staff, Vitor Escaria, the former prime minister’s great friend, businessman Diogo Lacerda Machado, as well as the former infrastructure minister Joao Galamba and six other people remain indicted for alleged acts of influence peddling linked to calls for tenders for a data center, lithium mine prospecting and a green hydrogen production center. But possible acts of corruption and abuse of power have been ruled out.
Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers In Portugal, a corruption scandal forces the resignation of Prime Minister Antonio Costa
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Above all, the investigation opened by the General Prosecutor’s Office against Antonio Costa himself eight months ago, which forced him to submit his resignation through “respect for the dignity of his functions” but the ” conscience clear ” with two years left in his mandate and a solid absolute socialist majority in the Assembly, did not result in his indictment. Worse, it was strongly criticized by the investigating judge and the Lisbon Court of Appeal for its lack of“serious clues”. Its political consequences were serious. The early elections held in the aftermath resulted in the victory of the Social Democratic Party (PSD, centre-right), led by Luis Montenegro, and the end of the eight-year Costa government.
Pressure from Christian Democrats
By expressing doubts about the appointment of Antonio Costa on June 17, the Christian Democrats of the EPP mainly wanted to raise the stakes in the negotiations between the Twenty-Seven on the European “top jobs” (presidencies of the Commission and the Council, head of European diplomacy). The EPP, which is the leading political force in Europe – it has twelve heads of state or government at the council table and won seats in the European Parliament following the June 9 elections, unlike the social democrats (S&D) and even more to the liberals of Renew – tried to have more than what was planned, namely the presidency of the Commission, in the person of Ursula von der Leyen, and that of the European Parliament, for the first half of the mandate.
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