PS Madeira says that the withdrawal from the government program shows the failure of the PSD to form a majority

PS/Madeira leader Paulo Cafofo said this Wednesday that the withdrawal of the government program proposal, which was discussed in the regional parliament, shows the failure of the PSD to form a majority.

“Miguel Albuquerque [líder do Governo Regional e do PSD/Madeira] he has just admitted his inability to fulfill his responsibility when he assured the representative of the Republic, the people of Madeira and Porto Santos, that he has the majority to form a government,” Paulo Cafofo told reporters at the regional parliament in Funchal.

Late Wednesday afternoon, the regional government president announced that the executive branch would withdraw the Program proposal that had been discussed in the Legislative Assembly, acknowledging that it could not be approved on Thursday.

Considering that this decision “only demonstrates the staging that has taken place these days between the PSD and Chega,” the leader of the socialists in Madeira accused Miguel Albuquerque of lying when he gave guarantees that he had the necessary majority to approve the government program. .

“A performance that does not at all correspond to the dignity that this house deserves, the debate that we have led these days with all responsibility,” he stressed.

Insisting that responsibility lies solely with Miguel Albuquerque, “because he was the one who gave the guarantee [de maioria] and apparently he didn’t have it and he lied,” Paulo Cafofo reiterated that the regional government leader “is the main source of instability, he is the problem of the region.”

“This political instability begins with Miguel Albuquerque’s PSD and ends with Miguel Albuquerque’s PSD. He bears full responsibility,” he emphasized.

Paulo Cafofo also assured that PS/Madeira “remains calm and serene, despite all the responsibilities entrusted to it” and that it is Miguel Albuquerque “who must explain to the Madeirans which path to take.”

Discussions on the Madeira government program began on Tuesday, with a vote scheduled for Thursday.

The document will be rejected as PS, JPP and Chega have declared their vote against it. The three parties have a total of 24 deputies out of the 47 that make up the hemicycle, equivalent to an absolute majority.

In a statement to reporters at the end of the day, Madeira’s chief executive did not want to specify which parties he would negotiate with to approve the program, but stressed that “the greatest resistance” at the moment “comes from the PS and the JPP.”

“We are going to present to the Assembly a new program, including a number of proposals that will continue the ongoing negotiations,” he confirmed.

Asked if he accepted that he would resign as president of the regional government if the program failed, Miguel Albuquerque replied that “it doesn’t make any sense” since he was elected president of the PSD/Madeira and then the island. executive.

In addition, he added, in regional legislative elections, “people vote not only for the party, but also for the government’s presidential candidate.”

In early regional elections on May 26, the SDP elected 19 deputies, giving it five terms to achieve an absolute majority (which requires 24), the PS received 11, the AKP nine, Chega four and SDS-PP two. , and IL and PAN elected one deputy each.

After the elections, the PSD signed a parliamentary agreement with the Christian Democrats, but it still lacks an absolute majority. Both parties have a total of 21 seats.

Also after the vote, the PSI and the PPP (20 seats in total) announced an agreement to try to remove the PSD from power, but the representative of the Republic, Ireneu Barreto, realized that this was not viable and nominated Miguel Albuquerque. .

The May elections took place eight months after Madeira’s legislative elections on September 24, 2023, after the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, dissolved the Madeira Parliament following a political crisis that arose in January when Miguel Albuquerque was named as a defendant. in a case of alleged corruption.