This position was transmitted by Pedro Duarte after the parliament approved in plenary, in general, a PS project to abolish tolls on the old SCUT (Without Cost to the User) motorways. The PS bill had the favorable votes of Chega, BE, PCP, Livre and PAN, with PSD and CDS-PP rejecting it and the Liberal Initiative abstaining.

This PS project, according to the estimates of the executive led by Luís Montenegro, if approved in the final global vote as it is, will have a cost of 180 million euros in 2025, reaching an accumulated value of 1.5 billion euros at the end of the concession periods in 2040.

"Today we witnessed with amazement a new parliamentary pattern, in which it seems that the oppositions, namely the PS and Chega, are colluding in a negative coalition in order to question and undermine government activity", accused the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs.

For Pedro Duarte, after what happened in parliament in the vote on tolls on the former SCUTs, it is clear that what "unites the PS and Chega is a desire to block and undermine the Government's action".

"We all know in the country what the expression 'no is no' uttered by the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, [in relation to Chega] means, and that it is followed by the Government and the majority of the Democratic Alliance (AD). But for the PS there are no limits, there are no criteria in its parliamentary coalitions and collusions, and there are no values that must be followed?", he questioned.

But the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs went even further in his questions.

"If the PS and Chega really intend to assume the governance of the country, what is the reason for not assuming it before the Portuguese people? It would be clearer for everyone and more transparent. If this is not the case, if they have no desire to join forces to govern the country, then what is the reason for not letting the Government govern?"

Pedro Duarte then accused, above all the PS, of "deep budgetary irresponsibility in the SCUT issue, since, according to the estimate of the PSD/CDS-PP executive, the socialist bill now approved will represent 180 million euros in terms of cost in 2025.

"But the problem is that it does not only have an impact in one year. According to our estimates, by the end of the concession period for tolls on the former SCUTs, in 2040, the value will be 1.5 billion euros", he added.

Speaking to journalists, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs pointed out that the increase in expenditure proposed by the PS in relation to the former SCUTs was known at the same time as it is known that, since the time when António Costa's executive entered into management, "more than one billion euros have been squandered in exceptional expenses".

"In his inauguration speech, the Prime Minister asked for clarity and a sense of responsibility from the PS, but at the time this speech was not well understood by some, namely analysts and commentators. But, perhaps today, we understand the reason for this appeal to the PS's sense of responsibility. It is important that the Portuguese people understand the extent to which the PS is willing to go in this saga of irresponsibility", he said.

Despite "these political maneuvers" by the PS and Chega, the Government, according to Pedro Duarte, "is more committed than ever to implementing its program and to its desire to improve the lives of the Portuguese people".

"More important than political moves is the quality of people's lives. With a reformist spirit and a sense of responsibility, we want to change the country, but without adventures, like those that the PS governments led the country into particularly difficult circumstances", he added, here referring to the executives of José Sócrates.

Asked whether the Government or the PSD tried to negotiate a gradual reduction of tolls with the PS or Chega, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs stated that there was such a dialogue.

"We have always shown a spirit of openness and we have talked regularly with the different party forces. We are aware that we do not have a majority in parliament", he noted, before referring to the case of the former SCUTs in particular.

"We will naturally respect the decisions of parliament and we will try to find formulas, with a sense of responsibility", he insisted, before admitting the possibility of a gradual abolition of tolls in the future.

"This may be a path. For us, this is not a pamphlet that is taken to parliament to have sporadic and circumstantial victories", he added.

[News updated at 8:01 p.m.]

Also Read: End of tolls on the former SCUTs? "Government was defeated in the Assembly" (Portuguese version)