On Sunday, Luís Marques Mendes commented on the two news stories that marked the week and politics: the requests for a parliamentary commission of inquiry (CPI) into the management of Santa Casa and the controversy related to statements made by Chega leader André Ventura and the position of the president of the Assembly of the Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco.

"I think the campaign of criticism against Aguiar-Branco is an exaggeration. It even gives the impression that he has committed some crime", he began by saying in his usual commentary space on SIC's Jornal da Noite.

Marques Mendes defended that "the freedom of expression of any deputy is inviolable and untouchable". "There is no possible discussion, they can say exactly what they want and no president of the Assembly of the Republic can censor them," he said.

Despite being in favour of the freedom of expression of deputies, they "can and should" be warned by the president of the Assembly of the Republic.

"Can a deputy in the Assembly of the Republic make speeches that are even offensive, slanderous, or that use inappropriate language? My answer is: they can. It is freedom of expression. They can, but they should not," he considered.

And he added: "If that happens, does the president of the Assembly of the Republic have an obligation to intervene? Of course he does not have an obligation, but I think he should intervene".

Marques Mendes exemplified that the president of the Assembly of the Republic "can intervene by making a remark" if it is a slanderous or offensive statement or if it uses language that is not appropriate. According to the commentator, this is the point that "Aguiar-Branco missed".

"I think that Aguiar-Branco can, in fact, choose not to intervene, but he should intervene in certain situations," he said.

"It is not to limit freedom of expression, it is not to take the floor away, it is just to defend and preserve the best principles of parliamentary democracy. Between the complete exaggeration that was in the past with Augusto Santos Silva and the total silence, there is a middle ground that can be observed", he added.

The controversy, it should be recalled, erupted on Friday, when Aguiar-Branco stated in the Assembly of the Republic that the use of language that qualifies races disparagingly falls within freedom of expression and is admissible, after the leader of Chega had said that the Turks "were not known for being the most hard-working people in the world".

Santa Casa? "Matters should be analysed" in parliamentary committee

The political commentator also addressed the dismissal of the provider of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa (SCML), Ana Jorge, and the choice of her substitute, Paulo Alexandre Sousa, who he considered to be "positive" for being a manager.

Regarding the fact that some parties want to open a parliamentary commission of inquiry (CPI) into the management and conduct of the previous leaders of the SCML, Marques Mendes said he is "against the trivialisation of parliamentary inquiries", but "in this case" it is justified, "especially from the management of Edmundo Martinho until now".

"A few years ago, Santa Casa was financially a bottomless pit. It was almost a state within a state. And, suddenly, it is almost technically bankrupt. This needs to be clarified", he explained, warning that it is "public money".

"These matters should be analysed, not with the intention of hurting anyone, but with the intention of clarifying everything," he said.

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