The chairman of the PSD announced this Wednesday that the party will make a presentation to the Supreme Court of the Public Prosecutor’s Office on last week’s house searches, after receiving a reply from the Attorney General of the Republic (PGR) who was considered insufficient.
“We have to guarantee that democracy works in Portugal,” Luís Montenegro said at the PSD party’s dinner.
After some deputies criticized the way the party leadership and the bank reacted to the searches by the judicial police at former president Rui Rio’s house and party headquarters, Montenegro again considered the response given to be adequate, pointing out that a letter had been sent to Lucília Gago a day later, warning of their disparity.
“The attorney general understood us to answer only by saying that she had taken note and sent our concerns to the trial. Of course, it is little,” he said.
For this reason, he announced, the party decided in the coming days to “submit an explanation to the Supreme Court of the Public Prosecution Service so that the full scope and full compliance with the rules of these diligences are verified”, on the one hand hand .
“On the other hand, so that information that is seized and that is not needed should never be protected. We do not accept that anyone can have elements that can be used to determine the political action of the party,” he said.
Without responding directly to calls from some deputies to summon the PGR to parliament, Montenegro assured that the party “does not want to offend anyone or sponsor any changes in the law”, and appealed for everyone’s cooperation, so “there is no doubt about the behavioral policy” of the PSD.
“We are not the ones who deal with serious matters in an irresponsible manner. I see no reason for us to take a position based on anyone’s moods or personal agendas,” he stated.
This announcement came in the final stages of a nearly 40-minute speech in which Montenegro wanted to emphasize that “the parties are not above the law”.
“We are convinced that we have done everything within the framework of the law, but if there are any doubts, we clarify,” he assured.
Montenegro said he would not go into too much detail as the PSD is finalizing its examination of the documents collected during the searches. Montenegro found it clear that “the principle of proportionality was not respected” with the confiscation of electronic equipment such as mobile phones or computer cloning to clarify the distribution of human resources between the parliamentary group and the functioning of the party.
The PSD chairman took advantage of this intervention to leave a call for unity from everyone in the party, following several bouts of tension in the parliamentary bench, majority “inherited” from Rui Rio’s previous leadership.
“I am not inclined to intrigue or pettiness in politics, all parliamentary groups have their quirks, their origins and their way of being and working, it has always been like that,” he said, repeating that “this is your parliamentary group”, in which he has every confidence.
Luís Montenegro again lauded parliamentary leader Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, whose position he said he saw “increasingly recognized outside parliament”.
“I hope we all know how to fulfill our mission to be a beacon of hope for Portugal for the future (…) Let us know not to spoil anything, on the contrary add, join and add “, he appealed, at a dinner that brought together deputies, members of the board of directors, presidents of districts and attended by former parliamentary leader José Pedro Aguiar Branco.
Source: DN
