Fachin convinces in the CCJ. Renan remains a mystery.
After seven hours of unprecedented questioning – due to its duration, the toughness of the questions, the number of questioners, and even innovations such as allowing internet users to participate – jurist Luiz Edson Fachin has already convinced a good portion of the senators who had been criticizing his nomination to the Supreme Court; some predict he will have 20 to 24 votes out of a total of 27 members of the Senate's Constitution, Justice and Citizenship Committee (CCJ); this information comes from journalist Tereza Cruvinel; now, the jurist's nomination depends heavily on the handling of the process by the Senate president, Renan Calheiros, who yesterday heard a request from President Dilma Rousseff to help in this battle; whom will Renan heed?
By Teresa Cruvinel
After seven hours of unprecedented questioning – due to its length, the toughness of the questions, the number of questioners, and even innovations such as allowing internet users to participate – jurist Luiz Edson Fachin has already convinced a good portion of the senators who had been criticizing his nomination to the Supreme Court. Some confessed this privately, others publicly, such as Eduardo Amorim (PSC-SE), who declared that he had changed his opinion from the beginning of the session.
Fachin convinced and won over support he didn't have, with some predicting he will have 20 to 24 votes out of a total of 27 members of the Senate's Constitution and Justice Committee. He brilliantly escaped the pitfalls that were attempted against him, behaving with humility but displaying a preparedness and balance that disconcerted his critics. Now, his nomination depends heavily on how the Senate President, Renan Calheiros, handles the process.
Through the Senate Agency, Renan aborted an urgent request that would have been presented by Senator Roberto Requião from Paraná, aiming for the plenary vote to take place tomorrow or on Thursday. As is known, whatever the outcome of the vote in the Constitution and Justice Committee, the final decision rests with the plenary. Renan preemptively announced that the vote there will take place on Tuesday at 19 PM. This reinforced rumors that he was against the approval of Fachin's nomination and had begun to express this to some senators. Perhaps his objective was to make it clear that he is the master of time in the Senate and that he would not rush the vote to accommodate the Government, Dilma, or Fachin's supporters.
But there are also those who consider the day and time terrible. Many senators may not have arrived in Brasilia yet. With a low quorum, every vote is risky. The date also fulfills a request from the PSDB senators Aécio Neves and José Serra, who are in the US attending an award ceremony for FHC. They asked Renan to try to schedule the plenary vote for when they have already returned.
In any case, not even the swans of Congress believe his statement that he only has one vote among the 81 senators. A significant group within the PMDB votes as Renan dictates.
On the flight he took with Dilma to Senator Luiz Henrique's funeral in Santa Catarina, he heard her ask for his help in this battle. She explicitly said she needed his help. And he reportedly received a signal that Renan would not sabotage the approval of his nominee. Now, the game largely depends on him.