Lula caresses Alexandre Padilha after pressure from the Chamber – 12/22/2023 – Power

Lula (PT) praised this Friday (22) the chief minister of the Secretariat of Institutional Relations, Alexandre Padilha (PT), after dissatisfaction at the top of the Chamber of Deputies with the performance of the holder of the portfolio responsible for political articulation.

The president stated that Padilha is responsible for the government’s “difficult relationship” with the National Congress, in which the majority of parliamentarians are not part of Lula’s base. The minister, in turn, classified the news as “gossip” and said he would not comment on it.

“Comrade Alexandre Padilha, you know, you know that he was an extraordinary Minister of Health, an extraordinary Minister of Political Relations in his first term and he was chosen for me to maintain the relationship with the National Congress, a difficult relationship,” said Lula.

“It’s important for you to remember that the PT only has 50 deputies out of 513, PCdoB has a little, PSB has a little, PDT has a little. The entire left should not have 130 deputies out of 513. So you have to understand the capacity we have having to negotiate to approve anything”, he added.

The statement was made during Christmas for Waste Pickers and Homeless Populations, held at the Mané Garrincha stadium, in Brasília.

Hours later, at Palácio do Planalto, Padilha told journalists he was happy with the approval of measures at the end of the Legislative year and said he would not comment on “gossip”.

“First of all, I don’t comment on things that aren’t said directly to me or to President Lula, or elsewhere. [declarações com autor definido]. I will not comment on off-the-record articles [feitas sob anonimato]in off-the-record comments, gossip made by the press”, stated the minister.

“I have a relationship of deep respect with all deputies and senators, especially with the presidents of both Houses, institutional respect, with the leaders, I dialogue permanently”, he added.

Padilha also stated that he spoke with Lula during the end-of-year get-together, at Granja do Torto, who noticed that his minister was happy. He said he responded that he was happy with the approval of the government’s agenda and added “I’m very happy where I am”, in reference to his position.

As in other moments when he was under pressure, the minister also repeated to journalists that he is an experienced politician, who has been responsible for the political articulation of other governments. That’s why he usually “leave his liver in the fridge” when he leaves the house. And he also jokingly added that he is “up to date with therapy.”

The articulation of the Executive in the Chamber and the Senate has been a frequent target of complaints from parliamentarians since the beginning of the PT member’s term, especially those who are part of the centrão.

Leaders of these parties say that if Lula wants to build his support base in Congress for 2024, it will be necessary to make changes in the government.

On the PT side in the Chamber, the behind-the-scenes discourse is that much of the dissatisfaction arises from the fact that the center has lost the exclusive management of the distribution of amendments and funds that it had under Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

Despite exchanges on the Esplanada that guaranteed the entry of representatives from the center into the government, the Executive still does not have a solid support base.

According to reports, the president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), took this complaint about Padilha to Lula himself in a recent meeting with the PT member.

Dissatisfaction mainly revolves around a lack of skill in political negotiations and non-compliance with agreements that would have been signed. Padilha’s performance in negotiating the ministerial reform, which lasted from July to September, was also widely criticized by parliamentarians.

According to them, this is not an isolated assessment of Lira. There is also criticism of the performance of government leaders in the Chamber, José Guimarães (PT-CE), in the Senate, Jaques Wagner (PT-BA), and in Congress, Randolfe Rodrigues (Rede-AP).

This week, Lula gave a speech during a meeting with ministers from his government praising the organizers of the Planalto in Congress and discussing the political negotiations that were successful this year—he spoke of the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad (PT), but did not mention Padilha by name .

Members of Palácio do Planalto, however, deny that the president is dissatisfied with Padilha’s performance, despite recognizing the pressure from the Chamber.