Lisbon, July 10, 2025 (Lusa) - Far-right Chega will request an urgent debate on Friday on the partial privatisation of TAP so that the government can explain the details of the deal to parliament, the party’s president announced on Thursday.
“Chega will request an urgent debate in parliament tomorrow [Friday] on the privatisation process of TAP,” André Ventura told journalists in parliament.
André Ventura said that the announcement came “by surprise” and “without consulting the major parties,” so parliament should know more details about the business model.
The Chega leader said that the TAP process has often been “ruinous for taxpayers, and parliament has the right, and also the duty, to know how those responsible will do this deal, in what context they will do it and how they will carry it out”.
André Ventura said that Chega “will facilitate the partial privatisation of TAP”, It supports “every deal that promotes responsible privatisation” of the airline and “facilitates crucial routes, including those connecting the diaspora, emigrants, and those linking major national investment hubs, such as Brazil, the United States of America, and Canada”.
“Chega always insists on preserving public ownership of TAP and rejects complete, savage and total privatisation,” he said.
“We consider it essential that the state maintains control over crucial routes and TAP as a service company for the Portuguese people, particularly for Portuguese emigrants abroad; this commitment is central to our position,” Ventura said.
He stated that “what is at stake at the moment is recovering around €500,000 from this sale”, which, in his opinion, is an “excessive” amount and represents “less-than-ideal terms for Portugal”.
“What criteria can we use to conclude that we are making an acceptable deal? Everything indicates, so far, that we need to adjust our approach to secure an acceptable deal and ensure taxpayers, who are once again going to foot the bill, benefit from it,” he stressed.
Ventura warned that "for the government to count on Chega as a party that helps improve this process and facilitates progress, it must also give guarantees that TAP will demonstrate more effective management and constructively allocate funds", and he added that the government will guarantee routes to serve emigrants "and the main points of contact for Portuguese culture and Portuguese investment’.
"Chega wants to ensure that, regardless of the business model and type of business, TAP works for everyone, especially for the Portuguese, both those who are here and those who are abroad, and it will ensure management that, from all points of view, guarantees TAP operates smoothly, on time, and with uninterrupted service. The government should focus on protecting TAP rather than selling it at any cost,” he said.
The Chega leader also wants the state to return the money it invested in TAP to the Portuguese people.
The government today approved the decree-law that initiates the process of reprivatising TAP, in which it intends to sell, in the first phase, 49.9% of the airline’s capital, the Prime Minister announced.
FM/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
