Police demands heat up Portuguese politics
Hundreds of police officers turned up in Parliament on Thursday while it debate Chega's proposals on their careers.
On Thursday, several hundred police officers and military personnel showed up in Parliament to watch the debate over Chega’s proposals, including the risk supplement and the criminalisation of incitement to hatred against criminal police and judicial bodies.
The Chega leader had earlier called on security force professionals to occupy “the galleries and outside Parliament” in a show of “strength”.
Despite hundreds of people being unable to enter parliament due to security procedures, the protest took place “in an orderly manner” and “within normality”.
The Assembly also debated proposals from the Communist (PCP) and the Greens (PAN) to increase the risk supplement of the PSP and GNR.
Negotiations locked
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro stated that the Government will not put “one more cent” into the proposal for the security forces, saying that it has already made “a terrible effort” and is not available to “bring back financial instability”.
“There is one thing that cannot happen: the Government loses the authority to care about the whole of society, about everyone else. As long as I am PM, I will be available to resolve everything that needs to be resolved in Portugal, but not to bring back financial instability, suffering for everyone just to fulfill the particular interests of some”, said Luís Montenegro.
President Marcelo also weighted in on the issue saying that he hopes that the Government maintains the spirit of dialogue and understanding with the security forces.
He also said that he believes that the police will never jeopardize the country's security.
Yesterday, the Government announced that a new negotiating round has been called for July 9 at the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Opposition criticism
Meanwhile, the secretary general of the PS, Pedro Nuno Santos, accused Luís Montenegro of having failed to reach an agreement with the security forces, a promise he had made during the election campaign.
"I'm concerned that there is no agreement," the Socialist leader told journalists on Tuesday.
Pedro Nuno Santos recalled that "this was one of the current prime minister's big campaign promises - that he would resolve the situation with the security forces in a short time".
He also pointed the finger at Chega, speaking in "total condemnation" and "without hesitation" of what he considers to be the "exploitation" made by André Ventura's party.