Spattered by a corruption scandal, the Portuguese Prime Minister, the socialist Antonio Costa, announced on Tuesday November 7 that he had submitted his resignation to the head of state. “The duties of prime minister are not compatible with any suspicion of my integrity. In these circumstances, I presented my resignation to the President of the Republic,” he declared to the press.
The Portuguese head of state, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, accepted the resignation of Antonio Costa, announced the presidency in a press release and will bring together on Wednesday the political parties represented in the Assembly of the Republic – the Portuguese Parliament. The next day, the Portuguese president is expected to convene the Council of State, where the highest political leaders sit, before “addressing the country”. He could, if he wishes, dissolve Parliament and call early elections.
The head of government found himself embroiled in a corruption case linked to the awarding of energy contracts, which led in particular to the indictment of one of his ministers and his chief of staff. According to Portuguese media, Mr. Costa spoke with the head of state, the conservative Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who also spoke with the public prosecutor.
This case concerns suspicions of “embezzlement, active and passive corruption of political office holders and influence peddling” in the attribution in particular of lithium exploration and hydrogen production concessions.
During the investigation, “the name and authority of the Prime Minister were also cited by the suspects,” the public prosecutor announced in a press release on Tuesday. Suspected of having himself intervened “to unblock procedures” in the context of this affair, Antonio Costa will be “the subject of an independent investigation”, again according to the prosecution.
Indictment of the Minister of Infrastructure
Investigators are interested in the granting of licenses for “lithium mining exploration” in northern Portugal, “a project to produce energy from hydrogen” and “a project to construct a data center of the company Start Camus” in Sines, about a hundred kilometers south of Lisbon.
On Tuesday morning, searches were carried out in his official residence, in several homes, in ministries and law offices. Taking into account the elements collected by investigators, the “risk of flight and continuation of criminal activity”, justice issued “arrest warrants” against his chief of staff, the mayor of Sines and of two Start Campus administrators.
The Portuguese Minister of Infrastructure, Joao Galamba, was indicted, as was the president of the board of directors of the Portuguese Environmental Protection Agency (APA). The APA announced at the beginning of September that it had given its approval, under certain conditions, to a second project in the country for the mining of lithium, a metal used for the manufacture of batteries and essential to the energy transition.
First lithium reserves in Europe
Portugal, which holds the first reserves of lithium in Europe, is also the main producer, but this production is currently only used for ceramics and glassware. A first lithium mine project also obtained, under conditions, authorization from the APA last May.
These mining projects are contested by environmental NGOs and part of the local population of this rural region. After his large electoral victory on January 30, 2022, which gave him an absolute majority supposed to guarantee the stability of his government, Mr. Costa saw his popularity plummet due to repeated scandals.
One of the most notable is “TAPgate.” More than a dozen ministers and secretaries of state have already left their posts because of this affair. This scandal broke out almost a year ago following revelations about the payment of severance pay of 500,000 euros to a director of TAP Air Portugal. She then took control of the public company responsible for air traffic control and landed a few months later as Secretary of State for the Treasury.