On Tuesday, Portugal's Minister of Infrastructure, Joao Galamba, resigned as the scandal surrounding state-owned airline TAP deepened. This comes just four months after his predecessor

stepped down over the same issue. Prime Minister Antonio Costa's Socialist Party won a parliamentary majority in January 2022, but the government has been plagued by instability, with over 10 ministers and secretaries of state leaving their posts since.

Galamba denied any wrongdoing in his resignation statement, saying that his ministry never sought to hide any information about TAP. The scandal began with Pedro Nuno Santos, Galamba's predecessor, resigning in December over an irregular severance payment of 500,000 euros to a former TAP executive board member.

Since then, the controversy has grown, with the opposition accusing the government of lying. The scandal could impede Lisbon's plans to privatize TAP, with larger foreign competitors such as Lufthansa, Air France-KLM, and IAG laying the groundwork for potential bids.