Il defended the return of funds from the privatization of TAP to the Portuguese and Chega criticized the management of the airline by the PS. For the Communist Party, Bruno Dias criticized the Liberal Initiative and stated that TAP is important for the country.
Parliament discussed TAP during the OE2024 ad hoc debate, with IL speaking of the “disrespect for Portuguese funds”, Chiga criticizing the Socialist Party’s role in public administration and the Chinese Communist Party defending the airline’s importance to the country.
“The TAP case is a blatant case of disrespect for other people’s money and the Portuguese’s money. Without asking anything from anyone, without writing this intention into any programme, and without voting at all, the government decided to bury 3.2 billion euros of our money in TAP, without Find out how you were supposed to get there. Rep. João Cutrim Figueiredo of IL.
For the Liberals “one thing is certain”: “Not all the money will be refunded”, “Do you want elections at this point?” “Put in your programs what you want to do to TAP and tell the Portuguese that you will not get their money back”, explained the IL MP.
“For us, it is clear that all cents generated from the sale of TAP must be returned to the Portuguese,” said João Cotrim Figueiredo.
In turn, Felipe Melo, Chiga’s deputy, considered the Portuguese airline “something too dangerous to continue in the hands of the Socialist Party.” He stressed that “a minister authorizes compensation for half a million euros, and another minister does not know completely about the ministry, and if this government ends, this position will be full and filled with former ministers in TAP.”
“This cannot continue. Once again, the Socialist Party took what was good, nationalized it, downgraded a strategic company, wanted for the time being to integrate it into the economic group, but did not know how, did not know when. TAP requires a sense of statehood.”
On the left, Popular Congress Party MP Bruno Dias used his intervention to criticize the liberal initiative. “The reality is that if IL had decided, we would not be having this discussion because TAP would no longer exist because IL from the beginning was against capitalizing TAP and stepping in to save TAP which makes TAP exist today,” he highlighted.
“We, unlike the right, continue to assert that the country needs TAP, and that it plays a strategic role in our development and sovereignty. TAP is important to our country and we will miss it in the future,” said Bruno Dias.
