In an interview published on Monday in the Público newspaper, Martins said her party wanted Novo Banco to be nationalised, but does not demand that the nationalisation be permanent.

“The BE is not waiting for excuses to withdraw it parliamentary support (…). We voted against a Revised Budget and continue to work with the Government. Now, it is true that the case of Novo Banco is a particularly sensitive one. And it is not only because of the left/right split on public control of the bank. It is because of the specific situation we are experiencing in banking in Portugal,” she said.

According to the coordinator of BE, it is not prudent for a country to have 70% of its financial system in foreign hands and, for that reason, the only way of preventing that is for Novo Banco to be public.

Asked about whether nationalisation should be permanent or temporary, Martins said, “I don’t know of any nationalisation that is permanent, nor any privatisation that is permanent. BES is an example, as it was nationalised, privatised and nationalised all over again. So, democracy is that: a decision at a given moment. BE believes that public control of banking is necessary,” she said.