This Monday, the CDS-PP asked the president of the Assembly of the Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, to open an investigation against BE’s sole deputy, Mariana Mortágua, for a gesture they considered “degrading” during an intervention by centrist Paulo Núncio.
The announcement was made by Paulo Núncio, parliamentary leader of the CDS-PP, who, in a press conference in parliament, criticized a “gross gesture and absolutely incompatible with the behavior required of deputies” and “inappropriate and degrading” behavior by Mariana Mortágua.
At issue, according to the video released by the CDS-PP, is the gesture of the sole BE deputy, Mariana Mortágua, during an intervention by Paulo Núncio in the plenary debate on the 10th on the minimum wage. The blocista, while Núncio criticized the parties on the left, raises her hand with a closed fist and only her index finger and pinky finger outstretched.
In the complaint presented, the CDS-PP argues that Mortágua’s conduct “does not fall within the scope of freedom of expression recognized for deputies” as it does not have “any political-discursive relevance, nor is it associated with the defense of a political position” and is “solely a markedly rude gesture that directly attacks the dignity and honor of the Assembly of the Republic”, Paulo Núncio and the centrist bench.
For the CDS-PP parliamentary group, the gesture of the former leader of the Bloc violates the duty of civility and institutional loyalty provided for in the deputies’ code of conduct and violates the rights to exercise mandates of the remaining deputies.
Considering that “Paulo Núncio was the target of offensive, degrading, inappropriate and incompatible with dignity behavior”, the CDS-PP asks Aguiar-Branco to “determine the opening of an investigation” into Mariana Mortágua, in order to “guarantee the protection of the dignity of the Assembly of the Republic, parliamentary decorum and the regular exercise of the deputies’ mandate”.
To journalists, Paulo Núncio accused, without giving an example, the Left Bloc and “many far-left deputies” of being authors of other “degrading and inappropriate behavior” in the past, considering that “there cannot be double standards” in this matter.
“Deputies who engage in inappropriate conduct on the right cannot be called to attention and then the same treatment and the same standard cannot be used when it comes to deputies from the extreme left. That’s the point.”
Asked what outcome he expects for this complaint, Núncio stressed that it is a decision by the Transparency commission, arguing only that, if the centrists’ complaints are considered valid, Mortágua’s behavior must be “duly sanctioned”.
Speaking to CNN Portugal, BE denied that this gesture was intended to offend and said it was a “gesture of ‘rock’ culture, a symbol of pride and strength”. Asked about this justification, the parliamentary leader of the CDS-PP accused the blockade member of “wanting to give music to parliament”.
However, the national coordinator of the Left Bloc already reacted, refusing refuses to “feed artificial controversies that some want to create”. “Mariana Mortágua has already had the opportunity to show how the gesture she made in the Assembly of the Republic cannot in any way be interpreted as an offensive gesture. It is a gesture that has another, completely different meaning. I am perfectly convinced that anyone who is in good faith will accept that this is the case”, said José Manuel Pureza this Monday as he left the Palácio de Belém, where he was received by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in an audience requested by BE.
On social media, Mariana Mortágua made a post wishing everyone a “Merry Christmas”, using the emoji that represents the same gesture and several images of famous cultural icons raising their hands in the same way. Among the images shared on the blockers’ social networks are Lady Gaga, The Beatles and the cartoon Homer Simpson~.