On Wednesday, the head of state received the eight parties with parliamentary seats at the Belém Palace, most of which expressed themselves in favor of dissolution and calling early legislative elections.

However, the PS, which has an absolute majority of deputies, proposed to the President of the Republic the appointment of another prime minister to head a new Government supported by the current majority.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa announced that "he will speak to the country immediately after the State Council meeting", which is scheduled for 3:00 pm, at the Belém Palace, in Lisbon.

The Council of State was convened "under article 145, subparagraph a) and subparagraph e), second part" of the Constitution - under the terms of which this body is responsible for "rendering a ruling on the dissolution of the Assembly of the Republic", but also, "in general, advise the President of the Republic in the exercise of his functions".

Right at the beginning of the current legislature, the President of the Republic warned that an eventual departure of António Costa would lead to the dissolution of parliament, which he later reiterated, ruling out the formation of another executive with the same majority.

Throughout these two and a half years, there was speculation about the possibility that António Costa wanted to leave midway through the legislature to occupy a European position, a scenario that he himself ruled out.

On Wednesday, the parties also spoke about the possibility of allowing the approval and entry into force of the State Budget for 2024, under special discussion in parliament, with the final global vote scheduled for 29 November, which received some reception despite the opposition to the content of the Government's proposal.

The Prime Minister presented his resignation on Tuesday, which the head of state accepted, after searches in several government offices, also targeting his chief of staff, carried out as part of investigations into lithium and hydrogen projects and the Public Ministry announced that it is the subject of an independent investigation at the Supreme Court of Justice.

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