COSTA RICA NEWS – The Partido Liberación Nacional (National Liberation party) is still doing its best (or worst) to stifle President Luis Guillermo Solis’s sidetracked 100 days address suspected of containing dirty laundry from the Administrations of ex-President Oscar Arias and his successor Laura Chinchilla.
The speech, President Solis promised, would contain data on the state of the government as the incoming Administration found it and was to be given to the Legislative Assembly Thursday. But Liberation, with the largest party delegation among lawmakers, blocked the move.
Knowing the party cannot gag Solis completely, Chinchilla’s former Communications Minister and a diplomatic figure from both Administrations Carlos Roverssi has gone into damage control. “We were prepared from the first,” Roverssi told La Nacion.
Blocked from delivering his address Thursday, Aug. 21, Solis rescheduled the event for the Melico Salazar theater on Aug. 28. (See President to Present Speech Aug. 28.) Although details have not been released it is expected that the controversial speech will be aired on national TV and radio.
“We’ve combed press reports about errors by the government and are prepared as is normal,” Roverssi said. That usually means that politicians are prepared to counter revelations with a positive spin on them to make them sound better, if not to counter them completely.
“Nothing is hidden. Everything is public,” said Roverssi, “This is like a lineup of a soccer team that you can’t hide…We’re ready to defend the governments of dona Laura and don Oscar.” Lawmaker Antonio Alvarez (Desanti), a key player in the last Liberation campaign, confirmed Roverssi’s statements.
Comment: Although Alvarez Desanti noted that Liberation has no idea of the exact content the President is prepared to reveal, the biggest scandals are all as well revealed as Roverssi claims. But a party coming into power finds out where the bodies are buried since they have to be apprised of the predecessors’ actions.
So the 100 days report could well have some surprises for the general public, the press and even the losing side in the election. But, in a way, Liberation has shot itself in the foot (as happens in politics) by appearing on the defensive, even desperately frightened of what the President can say, focusing attention on the report.
It will be a massive letdown if the report is innocuous and merely tills an already plowed field.
Article by iNews.co.cr, reposted with permission
