Former PS finance minister Fernando Medina ‘escapes’
After years of ‘hitting the headlines’ and then lying seemingly dormant again, the Tutti Frutti political corruption case has finally formally accused a number of defendants – 60 in fact, many of them political figures past and/ or present, national and/ or local, PS and PSD.
At issue in this investigation has been suspicions of alleged favoritism towards PS and PSD politicians since 2018, through public contracts, involving alleged corruption (even if passive), influence peddling/ abuse of power, economic participation in business and prohibited financing.
Former Socialist ministers always cited in Tutti Frutti (former minister of finance under António Costa Fernando Medina, and Duarte Cordeiro, former minister of environment and energy) have both seen the investigations into their activities ‘archived’, although Medina has come in for ‘censure’.
Otherwise, those formally cited today will now see the case against them prepared for trial. Public prosecutors are requesting the loss of mandates for anyone still in a position of political power, and the forfeiting of any financial gains or advantages, if defendants are subsequently found guilty.
Considering the time it has taken to get this far, however, and the avenues of appeal that always lie open, there is little point in anyone holding their breath to see who eventually is found guilty.
This has always been a rarefied investigation into the web of two-party cronyism in Lisbon that has marked Portuguese politics for decades, but which is showing signs of finally breaking down – not because of snail-paced investigations like this one, but because voters themselves are showing they are totally fed up with the political status quo, and want something different.
