Senate President Davi Alcolombre (União Brasil-AP) told his allies that he has 60 votes to reject Jorge Mesías’ nomination to the Federal Supreme Court in the plenary session. Even if the government had received the necessary support, it would have indicated that it would shorten the voting time to prevent the minimum necessary for Messias to take office.
Senators interviewed for the report believe that the 60 votes mentioned in favor of Alcombre are exaggerated, but there is still a majority against Messias.
Alcolombre stated to two of his allies that the government would have to “bet on a race” to see who would be the first 41 senators to register their votes in the plenary session because voting would end shortly after a quorum was reached. The situation will be different from the one that emerged in the approval of the authorities last week, when he waited for a vote of more than 70 senators before announcing the result.
The person nominated by the President of the Republic to the position of Minister of the STF needs a favorable vote of 41 of the 81 members of the Senate, by absolute majority of the plenary. Any result less than that would lead to the name being rejected, something that has not happened since the end of the 19th century, when five chosen by former president Floriano Peixoto were defeated.
In the case of the Prosecutor General of the Republic, Paulo Gonet, who also needed the support of 41 senators, approval lasted 16 minutes, with 45 votes in favor and 26 votes in favor. The narrow result, just four votes too many, was seen as a message about nomination to the STF. The Palacio do Planalto newspaper preferred to point out the absence of four government supporters to argue that the margin could be larger.
At the same session, the appointment of other authorities was also approved, and Colombri several times asked the senators to remain in plenary and vote. There was concern that some might be rejected due to the lack of votes. “Everyone has to stay,” Alcolombre said at the time. “If anyone wants to travel, let them leave tomorrow.”
In the case of the STF, Alcolombre refused to meet with Messias and scheduled the hearing in the Committee on the Constitution and Justice for December 10, with the vote on the same day, a deadline that was considered short by government supporters due to resistance from senators – who, like Alcolombre, favored the nomination of Senator Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG).
The Senate President turned to his colleagues to tell them that although President Lula has the power to nominate the minister, it is up to the senators to approve the selection or not, and that this will be an opportunity for the legislature to reaffirm this prerogative.
When contacted on Thursday (27), the Senate President did not comment.
Government allies say that Lula should look for Alcolombre and that there are open spaces for negotiation with the Senate, such as the presidency of Cade (Administrative Council for Economic Defense) – which has been occupied on a temporary basis since July – and the presidency of the National Water Agency, whose term ends on January 15.
At the CVM (Securities Commission), in addition to the vacant position of Chairman, there is a board of directors that has been vacant since December and another board that will be launched at the end of this year. But the Ministry of Finance is trying to prevent these positions from entering political negotiations and is seeking to fill them with technical names, as two directorates in the Central Bank are doing.
But the position of Minister of Manpower will be non-negotiable, because abandoning this option means the President of the Republic giving up his powers, which is the path of no return, in the opinion of government officials.
Messias is reaching out to senators by phone and in person to try to overcome resistance and seek support for his candidacy. He hears in most conversations that his situation is sensitive due to disagreements between the government and Colombre.
Lula’s Senate has been the main source of government throughout his current term. However, the appointment of Messias to the vacant position left by Luis Roberto Barroso in the STF, strained the relationship.
Lula’s candidate said at the meetings that he should not be punished because of the crisis between Alcolombre and the federal government. He also mentions that, behind the scenes, he had a good relationship with the President of the Senate when he was an advisor to the House of Representatives – and he worked in the office of Senator Jacques Wagner (PT-BA), the leader of the government with whom Alcombre broke up.
Messias makes moves to try to get closer to the President of the Senate. On Monday (24) he issued a public note praising Colombre. The repercussions in the Senate were bad. Alcombre responded to the text with a cold note, in which he did not even mention Lula’s candidate by name.
Behind the scenes, government officials are talking about resorting to a formal formality to try to postpone the date and are relying on the president of the Central Court of Justice, Otto Alencar (PSD-BA), to buy more time.