This Wednesday, the PSD demanded an explanation from the PS secretary general, given that TAP’s challenge to the lawsuit of the former company president proves that Pedro Nuno Santos manages public affairs “with ease.”
“Lightness and informality are an integral characteristic of Pedro Nuno Santos. The Socialist Party may try to portray him as a doer, but his actions invariably end in failure, heavy bills for all taxpayers or, as in this case, lawsuits,” said PSD Vice President Miguel Pinto Luz.
At a press conference at the PSD national headquarters, the party leader said he was “surprised” to read TAP’s response to the former executive president’s (CEO) lawsuit, in which one of the allegations is that Christina Ourmier-Widener “never was a company employee.”
“The former CEO of TAP was presented to us by Pedro Nuno Santos as an excellent candidate, as a person with vast experience in the aviation industry, who will revolutionize the management of the company,” he stressed, referring to his role as Minister of Infrastructure, which at the time was the current General Secretary of the PS.
For the “vice” of the PSD, this challenge means that “TAP and therefore the state believe that Pedro Nuno Santos allowed the CEO of the company to be managed in an illegal situation.”
“TAP and therefore the state claim that Christina Widener received a higher salary than allowed by law, but this amount was paid every month, and the public guardian Pedro Nuno Santos did nothing,” he criticized.
In addition to “demanding an explanation” from the leader of the PS in the pre-election phase, since the parliament has already been dissolved, Miguel Pinto Luz said that the PSD intends to “debunk the image of a figure” that the PS is trying to create for its secretary general. .
“He actually does this, but invariably then retreats, then we have mistakes, we have legal proceedings, we have ease in managing public affairs. We will act differently from the point of view of the destinies of the country,” he assured, touching on this topic. to “morality and ethics of the state.”
Miguel Pinto Luz stated that Cristina Widener “received her due salary every month, was called before parliamentary committees, met with the Socialist Party bench, played WhatsApp with government officials” and “applied very harsh measures in practice towards the company’s workers.”
“His difficult relationship with Alexandra Reis is the probable reason for her dismissal and the subsequent compensation of 500 thousand euros, sanctioned by Pedro Nuno Santos and transmitted via WhatsApp,” he added.
The vice president stressed that “TAP cost the Portuguese more than 3.2 billion euros”, arguing that this money could have been used in other areas such as health, education or tax cuts.
“For the SDP, rigor, good management of public money, as well as the morality of the state are principles from which we will not deviate,” he assured.
Miguel Pinto Luz expressed regret that Pedro Nuno Santos did not take advantage of the public initiative he took this Wednesday to explain “the theme of the day,” calling on the campaign to be “a healthy and transparent dialectic.”
In his answers to journalists, he admitted that the new dispute around TAR could devalue the company, and called the presentation of the SDP’s election program an implementation of the format in which the Social Democrats claim that its privatization should be carried out.
In a lawsuit filed in September, the former CEO seeks compensation of 5.9 million euros, but TAP’s response emphasizes that even if Christina Ourmier-Widener had been fired without cause, she could only receive, at best, compensation of amounting to EUR 432,000, since the Statute of the Public Manager to which she was subject only allows compensation in accordance with the basic salary that she will receive until the end of her relevant mandate, subject to a limit of 12 months.
As stated in the document, the former CEO’s basic annual remuneration was €504,000.
Cristina Ourmier-Widener was dismissed for cause in April 2023 following a controversial half-million-euro compensation to former administrator Alexandra Reis that led to the dismissal of then infrastructure minister Pedro Nuno Santos and his secretary of state. Hugo Mendes and the creation of a parliamentary commission to investigate the activities of the airline’s management.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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