PSD/Madeira accuses PS of being the author of anonymous complaints of corruption

PSD/Madeira on Tuesday accused the Madeira Socialists of wanting to “win in court” what they failed to achieve in elections, saying they were the authors of anonymous complaints related to a corruption investigation that triggered a political crisis in the region.

“Today [denúncia anónima] the best weapon to overthrow the government,” said Social Democratic MP Bruno Melim during a political speech at the plenary session of the Madeira Legislative Assembly in Funchal.

The Social Democrat noted that “some of the complaints were anonymous, and after January 24, some already declared his paternity.”

The political crisis in the autonomous region is caused by the dismissal of Miguel Albuquerque after he was named as a defendant in an investigation into alleged corruption in the archipelago, which led to the removal of its leader from the PSD/CDU-PP coalition. parliamentary support for PAN.

On Saturday, the representative of the Republic, Ireneu Barreto, said that he would retain control of Madeira’s government until the head of state, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, decides to dissolve the Legislative Assembly, which could only happen after March 24. six months after the last regional legislative elections.

According to Bruno Melima, this is an attempt to “politicize justice and judicial politics”, and this situation caused an “interregnum in the political stability” of Madeira, “the only Portuguese territory where it existed”, after the PSD achieved a “clear victory”. in the regional elections on September 24, 2023.

The parliamentarian said that after March 24, if the President of the Republic decides to dissolve the Madeira Assembly and call early elections, the PSD “will be prepared.”

“The SDP is not afraid of elections, will hold its head high, be proud of the legacy of almost 50 years of rule and demand the democratic legitimacy that it has always been granted,” he assured.

In response, Rui Cayetano of the PS, the largest opposition party (holding 11 of the 47 seats in the semi-circle), noted that it was the “top leaders of the PSD” who condemned the alleged “invented works” in the archipelago, citing statements by a former Social Democratic MP in the Assembly Republic of Sergio Marquez.

On 15 January 2023, Sérgio Márquez, in a statement to the Diário de Notícias, mentioned that there were “works invented since 2000”, when Alberto João Jardim (PSD) was President of the Madeira Executive, and spoke about economic groups that have grown since the “Finger” garden.”

Sergio Marques, who also served in the first government of Miguel Albuquerque (PSD) as Regional Secretary for European and Parliamentary Affairs between 2015 and 2017, and at the time of the statements he was a PSD deputy in the Assembly of the Republic for the Circle of Madeira, also stated who was removed from office due to the influence of a large economic group in the region.

Rui Cayetano also emphasized that during the political crisis caused by the investigation of the Ministry of Justice, it was the CDS-PP (government coalition party) and the PAN, which signed the parliamentary protection agreement to ensure an absolute majority, that demanded the resignation of the deputy. regional government president Miguel Albuquerque.

Today’s plenary session discussed a draft resolution by the sole Liberal Initiative (LI) MP, Nuno Morna, which recommends that the regional government apply the 30 percent difference provided for in the Regional Finance Law to all levels of the IRS (Personal Administration). income tax), VAT (value added tax) and registration rates, as well as the corresponding withholding rates.

Also under consideration was a draft resolution proposed by the PCP on combating the gender pay gap, calling for a public report on inequality, identification of key problems and the creation of a regional programme.

The proposals will be voted on in plenary on Thursday.