PSD says “no point taking decisions in heat of moment”
PAN has become the latest voice to call for the resignation of Attorney General Lucília Gago, in the wake of yet another deep embarrassment for the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
According to party leader Inês Sousa Real, Ms Gago “doesn’t have the conditions” to remain in office and “cannot hide behind press releases” after calling governments into question.
“No, Lucília Gago is not in a position to remain in office. There is an absence here, above all, of communication with the population,” said the People Animals Nature party MP when asked if the Attorney General should remain in office.
Ms Sousa Real was speaking in Porto, on the sidelines of the presentation of PAN’s Electoral Programme for the March 10 elections.
Yet she “argued that Miguel Albuquerque, the former president of the Regional Government of Madeira, should be kept away from the executive while the investigation into suspicions of corruption involving him is ongoing”, writes Lusa.
“In PAN’s opinion, while an investigation is underway, there should be a removal so that it can proceed in a serene manner and without any political interference and so that there is confidence in citizens that this is happening,” she said.
PSD leader Luís Montenegro sees the situation differently. He is calling for ‘calm’, saying there is no point with knee jerk reactions “in the heat of the moment, and three weeks before legislative elections”.
The time to sort out what is going on in justice will be ‘after the elections’, and needs debate/ dialogue, he said.
Portugal’s embattled Attorney General is needless to say sticking to her guns, criticising the judge that released all three men held for 21 days on suspicions of corruption that shattered the political status quo in Madeira – and saying that five judges found strong evidence of corruption in the case drawn up this far.
President Marcelo is also insisting on saying ‘nothing’ in what the media is painting as “a crisis in Justice”.
The president’s representative in Madeira, Ireneu Barreto, has announced meantime that, for now, the regional government will continue in ‘caretaker mode’.
He has even opened the door to a return of Miguel Albuquerque by saying that the statute of arguido (official suspect) “does not interfere with the political ability to continue to govern” because “due process of the Rule of Law enshrines the principle of presumption of innocence”.
That is a different view to the one taken by Portugal’s own prime minister, but this far, no one has pointed that out. ND
Source material: LUSA
UPDATE: as this text went up online, Ireneu Barreto confirmed he “will accept” the name of Miguel Albuquerque to run a new government of Madeira.
