The Presidency Minister on Thursday considered that the situation of the Prime Minister’s Deputy Secretary of State, Miguel Alves, had been clarified, rejecting that there is now a duality of criteria with regard to other members of the executive who have been formed suspects.
This position on the situation of Miguel Alves, who was accused in matters related to his former functions as mayor of Caminha, was conveyed by Mariana Vieira da Silva at a press conference at the end of the Council of Ministers.
“For the government, the situation has been clarified. The Prime Minister would not have said anything about the matter if it had not been clarified,” replied the holder of the Presidency’s portfolio, alluding to the fact that António Costa had already stated that the confidence was not at stake politically in Miguel Alves.
At the press conference, Mariana Vieira da Silva was twice confronted with cases where secretaries of state left the government after being defendants, which is not happening now with Miguel Alves.
“The different situation in which some of the departures in the government took place is obvious. I am not going to comment on any case, or alleged case, or topic of that nature, because that is not the scope of this briefing,” he began responding.
Faced with journalists’ insistence on this apparent contradiction and wondering if there is now, with regard to Miguel Alves, a difference in the government’s criteria in cases where one of its members is identified as a defendant, Mariana Vieira da Silva rejected it existence of this duality of criteria.
“This different attitude in different cases does not correspond to reality. Reviewing the communiqués and what was said in each of these moments, everyone can see that this is the case. There is no different attitude regarding the particular fact in connection with which I was questioned,” emphasized the Presidency Minister.
“I have systematically reaffirmed, with regard to issues related to alleged cases, that the Government is fully committed to the development of its work and the implementation of its programme. Justice-related issues are not the Government’s concern and that is why the secretary of deputy prime minister has provided clarification,” he added.
Even within the PS itself, the political actions of the Prime Minister’s Deputy Secretary of State, Miguel Alves, are being criticized in a case that refers to his previous positions as mayor of Caminha.
Several opposition parties, such as the PSD, believe that Miguel Alves is “not sufficiently qualified” to remain in office in government, either because he could not clarify what led him to advance €300,000 to a businessman for the construction of an exhibition center not yet built in Caminha, or because he is accused in two other cases.
The criticism extended to the PS, with former minister Alexandra Leitão bemoaning the silence and content of the interview Miguel Alves gave to JN and TSF, recalling that in 2016, three secretaries of state left António Costa’s executive after being appointed to defendants were named. Socialist deputy Isabel Moreira also criticized the case.
In the interview given to JN and TSF, the Deputy Secretary of State to the Prime Minister and former Mayor of Caminha, who is under investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office, claimed that he was silent because he had made the first statements to the Attorney General’s Office of the Republic (PGR).
Last week, the prime minister was asked if he maintains political confidence in his secretary of state and replied: “Certainly, otherwise I wouldn’t be a member of the government,” he said.
Source: DN
