PS Secretary General Pedro Nuno Santos commented on the PS operation in Madeira, which led to the arrest of three people, including Pedro Calado, the mayor of Funchal, and which also targeted Miguel Albuquerque, President of the Regional Government of Madeira, who was made a defendant.
“We are not going to use any court case to play politics,” said Pedro Nuno, stressing that he does not want to “mix justice with politics.”
He says he views the situation with “concern because the Portuguese have to trust the people they elect” and notes that the Socialist Party takes the presumption of innocence “very seriously.”
“We’re going to be consistent and we’re going to hope that all parties are consistent, because when we’re not consistent, it erodes trust,” he adds.
When asked whether there was a comparison between this case and the Prime Minister’s Operation Influential Man case, he responded that “the way people assess the seriousness of each case is different and how important it is that we are consistent”, adding , that not only the party, but also citizens will also “assess the connectedness of situations.”
He also says that those who hold public office “must make a decision about the position they take,” saying that “the first mission always lies with the politicians themselves.”
“We have to campaign in Portugal. This does not mean that the situation is not important, but there is a border that we do not want to cross,” says the PS secretary general.
Pedro Nuno Santos even mentioned Operation Man of Influence, which led to the resignation of Prime Minister António Costa and the calling of early legislative elections.
“When I talk about consistency, I’m talking about myself. I mean the way we handled the court case that led to the resignation of the Prime Minister. We talk about this matter in exactly the same way. [com o presidente do Governo Regional da Madeira] or we’ll talk about something else,” he added.
According to the PS Secretary General, in court cases involving politicians, it is important to respect the principle of separation of powers.”
“The independence of the judiciary and the presumption of innocence must be respected. We take these principles very seriously when we involve activists from PS, SDP or any other party. We will not be inconsistent in the way we separate politics from justice. “, he strengthened.
Faced with the position of the PS/Madeira party, which demanded the resignation of the head of the regional government, Miguel Albuquerque, Pedro Nuno Santos called for autonomy for this structure of his party.
“I have nothing to add to the position of the PS/Madeira, which always respects the autonomy of our party in this autonomous region. “We view this case with concern because citizens must trust institutions, they must trust their elected officials.” , he claimed.
Author: morning Post This Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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