Minister of Finance’s job is “at the disposal of the Prime Minister”

Portugal's Finance Minister said on Monday that he had never denied that there had been an agreement with Caixa Geral's former chief, António Domingues, on changing his status of managing a public company, and that his place "is at the disposal" of the prime minister.

Mário Centeno called a press conference to clarify the controversy he created at Caixa Geral de Depósitos, namely on his correspondence with Caixa’s new, but short-lived, manager António Domingues and the conditions under which Domingues was invited to take head up the State-owned bank.

Centeno then stated that there was no accord with António Domingues that he was exempt from submiting his income and asset statements to the Constitutional Court but that in the negotiations with Domingues, there may have been “a possible error of mutual understanding" over the agreement on changing Domingues’ status as public manager and that he "could foresee the elimination" of the requirement to lodge these all-important statements at the Constitutional Court.

In an attempt to involve his superiors, Mário Centeno said that he kept the prime minister fully informed of the whole process - and the President of the Republic at a later hearing.

A letter published last week by Eco newspaper, dated November 15, shows that António Domingues agreed with Mário Centeno that he would be exempted from filing his income and asset statements when he took over the chairmanship of Caixa Geral last August, although the minister did not reply to Domingues’ written confirmation.

Last Friday, the prime minister reaffirmed his confidence in the finance minister, making it clear that the resignation of Centeno, requested by the opposition, was "out of the question."

Centeno said today, "I have always been very serious," "I have always been truthful and I have always acted in good faith," rejecting accusations that he had made false statements to Parliament on the matter.

As for Domingues, the Social Democratic Party is keen to recall a statement made by the Caixa Geral former leader during a parliamentary hearing on January 4, 2017, when, in response to the question about the conditions agreed with the Minister of Finance, he assured those assembled that "these were guaranteed from the outset" and that "the Government, from a certain point onwards, no longer had the political conditions to maintain them."

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