António Costa was asked about Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa's decision to dispense with the audience with the Prime Minister, after being presented with a list of the names of ministers for the next government.

“Obviously, I can only share the same irritation as the President of the Republic. We all know that there must be institutional norms. The journalists managed to leak the information, I just have to congratulate those who made the leak”, said António Costa, adding that “it is regrettable that it happened”.

Asked if there is any unease between the Government and the Presidency of the Republic, the Prime Minister replied “no”.

“I was with the President of the Republic for several hours and he did not show any irritation. If he's angry, I can tell, because I'm no less angry than he is. If there's one thing I'm sure the President of the Republic knows, it's what journalists also know. The leak didn’t come from me, it didn’t come from my office, it didn’t come from anyone who depends on me,” he concluded.