Lisbon, July 17, 2025 (Lusa) - Prime Minister Luís Montenegro left open the possibility of the total privatisation of TAP on Thursday, stating that he is in favour of this option but wanted to proceed with caution and opted at this stage for an operation that would have political support.
Mariana Leitão, parliamentary leader and sole candidate for the IL leadership, questioned the head of the PSD/CDS-PP government during the state of the nation debate in parliament on this issue, commending him for demonstrating courage by moving forward with a partial privatisation of the airline.
“Concerning TAP, I understand that you favour total privatisation, and I certainly agree. We should remain realistic and cautious. This is the first phase, 49.9% of the capital,” the prime minister began by replying.
Luís Montenegro stated that at this stage the government will examine “the scope of the proposals” presented and whether they are in line with the “objective of making the company viable and ensuring its growth”.
“But we will, of course, see what can be done in a second phase,” he added.
Earlier, the IL parliamentary leader argued that “the minimum requirement was total privatisation, something that, amazingly, even António Costa defended” and asked the prime minister if “he will have the courage to do what should have been done long ago and relieve the Portuguese people of this burden or if he will continue to keep TAP in the hands of the state”.
Luís Montenegro countered that the PSD/CDS-PP government — which needs the support of other parties in parliament — had to “ensure it would guarantee political and also commercial conditions to ensure a good operation”.
“And that is what we did. We chose to proceed with care. We remained fully aware. The honourable member wanted us to make a proposal that was more in line with the IL, and then parliament would have reviewed it. And what would have happened at the end of the day? Everything would have remained unchanged,” he argued.
According to the prime minister, “the IL aims to change everything and then everything remains unchanged.” At the same time, the government seeks “to change what is possible to gradually achieve successes that have an impact on the life of the country.”
IEL/ADB // ADB.
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