By Sergio Goncalves
LISBON (Reuters) – Portugal’s Attorney General Lucilia Gago on Thursday rejected criticism from the ruling Socialist Party (PS) that she was responsible for Prime Minister Antonio Costa’s resignation because of her probe into alleged irregularities in his administration.
Prominent members of the Socialist Party (PS) have blamed Gago for the fall of the government, but she said prosecutors were “doing their job” and are obliged by law to investigate allegations.
“I naturally don’t feel responsible, because it was a personal and political assessment that was made (by Costa),” Gago, who rarely speaks to the media, told reporters on the sidelines of a conference.
Costa stepped down on Nov. 7 over an investigation into alleged illegalities in his government’s handling of lithium and hydrogen projects. President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa called a snap election for March 10.
Prosecutors said Costa was also the target of a related probe, but he has denied wrongdoing.
Parliament President Augusto Santos Silva, a member of the PS, last week criticized prosecutors for “accumulating errors” after a judge dropped charges of corruption and malfeasance against five suspects.
The judge kept the charges of influence peddling and offering of undue advantages, but the Socialists raised questions about the strength the prosecutors’ investigation.
Santos Silva said some in the judicial system viewed political activity as “by nature suspicious and tend to criminalize political and governmental action.”
He demanded the justice system decide Costa’s case before the snap election.
“We will continue to carry out the investigations without any drama. I feel the duty to present the best results possible,” Gago said.
(Reporting by Sergio Goncalves; editing by Charlie Devereux and Jonathan Oatis)
