The parliamentary leader of the PSD rejected this Wednesday the existence of “cases and cases” in the executive led by Luís Montenegro and categorically rejected comparisons with the situations that occurred with members of the government of António Costa.
Hugo Soares spoke after being questioned by journalists about the case of former PSD deputy Patricia Dantas, who did not take up her duties as deputy finance minister Joaquim Sarmento after she was reminded of the news that she was accused of tax fraud.
The parliamentary leader of the PSD even expressed bewilderment over one of the questions about whether the case of Patricia Dantas could in any way be compared with the case of Vitor Escaria, chief of staff of former Prime Minister António Costa, who, as part of the “During the Operation” program, was searched during more than 75 thousand euros in cash were discovered among influential people.
“If you want to equate the functions of the chief of staff to the prime minister with the functions of an adviser in a government department, we can make such a comparison. They are not exactly the same thing – and with the aggravating factor: this lady [Patrícia Dantas]who may or may not be a government advisor is not in the same situation as Victor Escaria, but I didn’t even want to go there because for me it would be inelegant,” he reacted.
Regarding the case of the former Madeira MP from the Social Democrats, the president of the PSD parliamentary group said that the situation of “a person who was going to be appointed to the cabinet as an adviser cannot be compared with the situations involving members of the government” of António Costa.
“On Tuesday I read the news that the government has its first victim. [com Patrícia Dantas]. I must say that I greeted this news with laughter. So can a councilor who was going to join the government and then not join be considered a victim? This is something completely extraordinary,” exclaimed Hugo Soares.
According to the version presented by Hugo Soares, Patricia Dantas was going to be hired as finance minister, “but she realized that she should not do it because of the published conditions.”
“He didn’t even take office. As they say now, it’s a bit ostentatious to compare this with the cases that happened to a member of the previous government. I ask for more rigor in the analysis of various situations,” he added.
The chairman of the PSD parliamentary group also said that something had gone wrong in the government’s internal controls when the question of the possibility of appointing Patricia Dantas as deputy finance minister was raised. At the same time, he argued that the former SDP deputy became the object of verification from a technical point of view.
“AND [Patrícia Dantas] He is a man of great technical ability. Nobody doubts this. But the question was raised about whether the trial would take place, and it was understood that there were no conditions to which she could or could not be invited,” she explained.
Hugo Soares also noted that Patricia Dantas, who was a PSD deputy, “under the same circumstances” from a judicial point of view, “earned the votes of the Portuguese twice.”
“This unresolved legal issue was already known. There is a fundamental principle – the presumption of innocence. The SDP and CDS will continue to unapologetically defend ethical and constitutional principles,” he added.