The PS/Azores, the largest opposition party that voted against in November, announced on Thursday that it will abstain from voting on the Plan and Budget for 2024 to ensure that the executive has "all the necessary means" to "materialize the recovery of the damages caused to the infrastructure of the Hospital Divino Espírito Santo and to resolve the restrictions on its operation".

On the contrary, the BE will vote against the document, as it did in November 2023, when the Budget for this year was rejected in the Azorean parliament, leading to early regional legislative elections.

The Chega, which abstained in the previous vote, has already admitted voting in favor, assuring that the party is "part of the solution" and is in parliament to "work and not to hinder" and arguing that "dialogue leads to political and governmental stability".

The IL/Azores decided to reserve its position for the "appropriate day and place" and the PAN said on Thursday that it would abstain.

The Budget proposal, which defines the strategic guidelines of the coalition executive for this year, includes an amount of 2,045.5 million euros, similar to that presented in October 2023 (2,036.7 million).

Meanwhile, this week, while the debate on the document was taking place in plenary, the PS, the BE and the PSD/CDS-PP/PPM coalition, together with the Chega, presented amendment proposals to restore the normal functioning of the Hospital Divino Espírito Santo, in Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel, which was hit by a fire on May 4, which left the unit inoperable.

The joint initiative of PSD/CDS-PP/PPM and Chega aims to allocate 24.3 million euros to the "recovery and requalification" of the Ponta Delgada hospital, so that it is possible to "restore the normal functioning" of the unit "as soon as possible".

Of those 24.3 million euros, the coalition that governs the Azores and the Chega want 20.6 million euros to come from the State Budget, with the remaining amount transferred from other headings of the regional Budget.

The PS presented an initiative to ensure that the funds allocated to the recovery of the Ponta Delgada hospital are not redirected to other purposes, in what is the only amendment proposal from the socialists.

The BE submitted a proposal for the Regional Government to develop, "within two months, a modernization, training and development plan for the Regional Health Service" for the next three years, which includes a survey of the needs at the Hospital Divino Espírito Santo.

In addition to this proposal, the Bloquistas also submitted initiatives on other matters, such as PAN and IL.

This is the second time that the Regional Coalition Government, led by the social democrat José Manuel Bolieiro, presents a proposal for an Investment Plan for this year, after the previous one was rejected in the Legislative Assembly, in November, with the votes against of PS, BE and IL and the abstention of Chega and PAN, which led the President of the Republic to call early elections.

The executive resulting from the early legislative elections on February 4 governs the region without an absolute majority in the Azorean parliament and, therefore, needs the support of some parties with parliamentary seats to approve its proposals.

In the February elections, PSD, CDS-PP and PPM elected 26 deputies, three short of an absolute majority. The PS is the second force in the archipelago, with 23 mandates, followed by Chega, with five. BE, IL and PAN each elected one regional deputy, completing the 57 elected.

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