The PSD president said today that the party has always defended the privatization of TAP and accused António Costa of having had “an erratic and zigzag policy”, which cost taxpayers 3.2 billion euros.
“Dr. António Costa, I believe he has lost track of the ridiculous, I was on the side of the Government in 2015 when it was decided, I was against the renationalization that Dr. António Costa carried out in 2016 and I do not follow the terms of 100% nationalization in 2020”, said, at the end of a debate on “Women and the Labor Market”, Luís Montenegro when asked about the criticism made hours earlier by the prime minister.
In an initiative in Seixal, António Costa was confronted with statements made this Tuesday by the vice-president of the PSD bench, Paulo Rios de Oliveira, on Observador radio, that TAP should not be privatized “at this moment”.
“I am absolutely incapable of commenting on the PSD’s positions on TAP, such is the volatility of the PSD’s positions on TAP”, reacted the prime minister.
Confronted with these statements, Montenegro stated that “that was not what the deputy said”, and reaffirmed the PSD’s position on the matter: “The PSD is in favor of the privatization of TAP.”
For Montenegro, it was António Costa who made “a complete reversal” of position, now defending the privatization that he reversed.
“Dr. António Costa is actually very bewildered in the conduct of the Government and in the statements he makes (…) António Costa’s policy in seven years was erratic, he went in zigzags and with the zigzags he made the Portuguese spend 3, 2 thousand million euros”, he said.
However, when asked whether the dismissal of the CEO and the chairman of TAP, announced on Monday by the Government, could jeopardize the privatization of the airline, the leader of the PSD admitted this possibility.
“I don’t know how to answer that. From a theoretical point of view, all the instability that the company may experience will not be very favorable to a privatization process, but I don’t know whether or not this implies a decrease in the company’s value”, he stated.
On Observador radio, Paulo Rios de Oliveira was asked if the PSD understands that TAP should not be privatized now: “At this moment, no. “, replied the “deputy” of the social-democratic bench.