“It is important for the PAN to have measures here to fight corruption that the prime minister has not introduced,” the leader of the People-Animals-Natureza (PAN) defended in statements to the Lusa agency.
The leader responded to the opinion piece published by the prime minister on Saturday in the ‘online’ newspaper Observador, in which António Costa stated that he does not devalue corruption, and that he has shown this in his political path “without rhetoric and with action”. accusing critics of constructing “a lie”.
Inês Sousa Real believes that “the Portuguese are concerned about the phenomenon of corruption and do not see themselves in these matters and affairs” of the executive.
“And the fight against corruption is one that helps ensure that public funds are used effectively to serve the people and not those who try to use them inappropriately,” he stressed.
For Inês Sousa Real, the most important thing is “the actions”, recalling the case of the entity for transparency, “which is precisely an entity that also has the power to monitor political positions”, and “that not even water and electricity have for its operation”.
“And therefore, if the Prime Minister says in his article that he has acted to ensure the anti-corruption mechanisms in our country and that he has somehow tried to respond to these problems, the truth is that, in our view, it is not enough has been done to ensure, on the one hand, the resources to operate the transparency entity,” he insisted.
According to the PAN spokeswoman, “not only has there been a lack of investment in justice over the years”, but also with regard to “the personal responsibility of politicians there is none here – with all due respect that the principle of the presumption of innocence deserves us – there is no action in accordance with what is said”.
The latest departure from the executive was that of Secretary of State for Defense Marco Capitão Ferreira, who had been appointed as a defendant in the “Perfect Storm” operation.
Source: DN
