The PS/Madeira will vote in favor of the motion of censure presented by Chega to the Regional Government led by Miguel Albuquerque (PSD), which “has lost all credibility”, Madeiran socialist leader Paulo Cafofo announced today.
“Unanimously, the political committee approved this deliberation, that is, the guidance to be given to the parliamentary group (in the Legislative Assembly of Madeira) to vote in favor of the motion of censure”, he informed.
The Madeiran socialist leader was speaking to journalists after the meeting of the PS’s regional political committee, at its headquarters, in Funchal, in which they analyzed the motion of censure presented on Wednesday by the Chega parliamentary group to the Government of Madeira.
Paulo Cafôfo highlighted that the party has always been “coherent in its action” throughout the process, since, in January, the president of the Madeiran executive was made a defendant in an investigation related to suspicions of corruption, so “it could not and will not hold this Government by Miguel Albuquerque”.
Cafôfo recalled that the PS was “coherent in the motion of confidence when presenting the Government Program”, adding that “since that time much more has happened to this government”.
The PS parliamentary leader in the Madeira Assembly also considered that Miguel Albuquerque “is evading justice” by refusing to have his immunity as a member of the State Council lifted, being accused in a process “for active and passive corruption”.
In addition to the president’s situation, there are four other regional secretaries “in the hands of justice”, which, for Paulo Cafôfo, “is not normal in a democracy, it cannot be normal”.
The Rules and Mandates Committee of the Madeiran parliament will analyze the requests for waiver of immunity presented by the Madeira District Court of the secretaries of Finance, Rogério Gouveia, Health and Civil Protection, Pedro Ramos, Equipment and Infrastructures, Pedro Fino, and the Tourism, Economy and Culture, Eduardo Jesus.
Paulo Cafôfo also criticized Miguel Albuquerque for, during the fire in August, on the island of Madeira, he decided to return to Porto Santo for vacation, having been photographed on a sun lounger on the sand, sunbathing.
“It was a president who fled, who avoided his responsibilities”, he stressed, adding: “That’s why we cannot hold a president with this stance and a government that has lost all credibility”.
According to the island socialist leader, Miguel Albuquerque is just “clinging to power so as not to respond to justice”.
“This attitude cannot have any validity on the part of the PS and that is why we are going to vote in favor of this motion of censure against the Government of Miguel Albuquerque”, he insisted.
Cafôfo devalued the paragraph in the text of Chega’s motion of censure that criticizes the PS, arguing that “what matters is the motion of censure against Miguel Albuquerque and his Government”.
“The decision taken here was considered, reflected, responsible”, he stressed, opining that Madeirans would not understand another stance from PS/Madeira, which has been fighting against the regime.
Regarding the possibility of letting the Regional Budget for 2025 pass and then presenting a motion of censure, Cafôfo responded that the PS “is not playing politics, nor motions of censure”.
The socialist leader highlighted that Chega also “gave a hand to Miguel Albuquerque”, holding that party co-responsible for the “instability and destabilization of political life” because it made agreements with the PSD/Madeira.
Cafôfo also highlighted that the PS has 11 deputies in a universe of 47 seats in the hemicycle, so there are another 36 deputies who will also have responsibility in this process.
The regional parliament is made up of 19 deputies from the PSD, 11 from the PS, nine from the JPP, four from Chega, two from the CDS-PP, one from the IL and one from the PAN.
The conference of party representatives in the Legislative Assembly of Madeira meets on Monday to schedule the discussion of the motion of censure against the Regional Government, which must have an absolute majority of votes (24 votes) to be approved.
The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, can only intervene in the process and call new regional legislative elections six months after the Madeira Legislative Assembly takes office, which happened on May 29, 2024.
Source: www.jornaldenegocios.pt
