Costa assures that the Minister of Infrastructure did not act “in bad faith” after the crisis over the airport

June 30. () –

The Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa, has ordered this Thursday the revocation of a ministerial order published on Wednesday on the new Lisbon airport in Montijo and, after disavowing the Portuguese Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Pedro Nuno Santos, has assured that the minister did not act “in bad faith”.

Costa has thus underlined that the minister “humbly” made the mistake of rushing into the decision on the possible new construction of an airport in Montijo by 2026 and the closure of the saturated Humberto Delgado airport, when the Alcochete airport was finished, in 2035.

The disputes, caused by the lack of dialogue between the parties – between Costa’s cabinet, the next leader of the PSD, Luis Montenegro, and the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa – have caused the first crisis within the Government socialist since he achieved an absolute majority in the January elections.

Despite the disputes, caused by the lack of dialogue between the parties, especially because the outgoing president of the conservative Social Democratic Party (PSD), Rui Rio, has not yet been relieved, the prime minister has backed down and has decided to calm the situation with Nuno Santos because, according to him, he has known him for many years, and has understood the “mistake he has made”, as well as “having the humility to accept it”.

“Having defined by the government that the main opposition party would be heard about the new airport, nobody makes a decision two days before the new leader of the PSD (Luís Montenegro) takes office,” Costa criticized at first. , according to ‘Diário de Noticias’.

For his part, Nuno Santos stressed that, as Costa’s office stated this morning, the Government will focus on the “active search for consensus with the largest opposition party” on the location of the new airport for the region from Lisbon.

Within the framework of this controversy, the President of the Republic has precisely demanded consensus on the airport solution for the Lisbon region and has blamed the Prime Minister for what happened, as reported by the Lusa news agency.