The outgoing president of the Madeira government and regional PSD leader Miguel Albuquerque said today that the parliamentary majority supporting the executive has the legitimacy to support the new executive, avoiding early elections.
“The regime in Madeira is a purely parliamentary regime, and in this sense we are currently in a position, with my resignation, [fazer] introducing a new government with a new government program and a new budget in order to guarantee the manageability of the region and, above all, to ensure that there will not be a very long interruption that will jeopardize the functioning of the region,” he said.
The SDP/CDU-NP coalition won the elections on September 24, 2023, but was one deputy short of an absolute majority, and this circumstance led to the signing of an agreement on parliamentary advocacy with the only MHP deputy.
“The legitimacy granted by the people of Madeira and Porto Santos four months ago remains unchanged,” said Miguel Albuquerque.
The leader of the Madeiran Social Democrats spoke after a meeting of the PSD Regional Council in Funchal, which analyzed the political crisis engulfing the region, following a process of investigation into suspicions of corruption in the archipelago.
Miguel Albuquerque was named as the accused and at the beginning of the week he officially resigned as president of the regional government, along with the representative of the Republic of Madeira, Ireneu Barreto, with whom he will meet again on Monday.
“Political parties must propose a solution,” he said, and then confirmed: “What my party will propose is what has been unanimously approved here, a solution to governability with our partners within the current parliamentary framework.”
Thus, according to him, the representative of the republic should hear the parties next week, emphasizing, on the other hand, that there are now no conditions for discussing the draft regional budget for 2024, which should take place from February 6 to 9. , a period during which two votes of no confidence in the government, presented by the PS, the largest opposition party in Madeira, and Chega, will also be discussed.
When asked about the possibility that the President of the Republic will decide to dissolve the Legislative Assembly of the region after March 24 and call early elections, Miguel Albuquerque only replied that Marcelo Rebelo de Souza “can make the decisions that he considers necessary.”
“I understand that from the point of view of some parties there is a desire to call elections,” he said, guaranteeing, however, that “the SDP is not afraid to go to the polls, what the SDP must do is ensure that the region does not remain under government control until July. since it will be a disaster,” since “nothing can be accomplished” is impossible.
The Social Democratic leader also stressed that the Regional Council, in which hundreds of activists took part, unanimously approved “guarantees that the legitimacy granted by the people of Madeira and Porto Santos four months ago remains intact,” stressing that the parliamentary majority is “guaranteed is based on the position of the CDS and the position of the PAN” and has “all the conditions to ensure political stability and trust in the region.”
“At this point we have to present a solution for managing the region,” he said.
On the other hand, he added, it is the party that will name the new head of the executive branch.
Miguel Albuquerque also announced that he will leave the PSD/Madeira leadership after the next congress, which has not yet been scheduled, and that he will not hold the position of deputy in the regional parliament.
The outgoing president of the Madeira executive also confirmed that he could be heard during the investigation into suspicions of corruption in the archipelago “at any time.”
On January 24, the judicial police carried out some 130 searches in and outside homes, mainly in Madeira, but also in the Azores and several areas of the continent, as part of an investigation into suspicions of active and passive corruption, economic involvement in business activities, malfeasance, receiving or offering an undue advantage, abuse of power and undue influence.
The accused were Miguel Albuquerque and the then president of the Funchal Chamber Pedro Calado (PSD), who has since resigned from his post, the head of the AFA construction group Avelino Fariña and the main shareholder of the civil engineering group Socicorreia. were arrested. , Custódio Correia.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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