The PSD party leader said this Thursday that “several issues need to be clarified” after hearing TAP’s chairman, adding that he wants to hear current and former finance and infrastructure ministers, as well as Alexandra Reis.
At the end of the meeting of the PSD parliamentary group, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento believed that after Christine Ourmières-Widener’s hearing in parliament on Wednesday, several things remained unclear, including the bonus she will receive and the compensation that will be awarded to former administrators, such as Alexandra Reis, who later served as Secretary of State for Finance for about a month.
“The CEO of TAP said something that is baffling to us: that Alexandra Reis had left because she did not agree with the airline’s restructuring process. I remember that this plan had the cooperation of Alexandra Reis, but not the participation of the current CEO, who came in later. The justification cannot be just this disagreement,” he said.
Asked about the personalities the PSD wants to hear in the BE’s proposed parliamentary committee of inquiry into the political management of TAP – which has been approved – the Social Democratic parliamentary leader says the party will make this assessment in the coming weeks, but already mentioned some names.
“There are several people to whom it is essential to listen: the TAP team, the current and the previous, including of course the engineer Alexandra Reis, the former Finance Minister and the current, former and current Minister of Infrastructure,” illustrated he .
Asked about the TVI/CNN Portugal news involving Fernando Medina, the PSD parliamentary leader declined to comment directly.
Medina is “politically very weak in key governance portfolio”
“We used to say Dr Fernando Medina couldn’t continue as finance minister, but that has nothing to do with yesterday’s news. [quarta-feira], but with what happened in the case of engineer Alexandra Reis. Politically, he is very weak in the main board portfolio,” Miranda Sarmento defended.
“We do not process intentions about anyone. Our criticism is political,” he stressed.
On Wednesday night, TVI/CNN Portugal reported that the judicial police on Tuesday carried out searches of the Lisbon City Council for “suspicions of corruption, economic participation in business and counterfeiting” in a “service agreement signed in 2015” by the then president of the municipality, Fernando Medina, the current finance minister, suspects PS funding.
In a statement today, the PS “categorically” rejected receiving financial or material support from companies, pointing out that the donations collected by this party are recorded, identified and presented to the Entity of Accounts and Political Finance.
“The PS clarifies that it has not received any financial or material support from companies. Under the law, only donations from duly identified individuals are accepted,” the PS statement emphasizes.
The PS then refers that “the donations made are recorded and identified in the party’s official accounts, presented to the entity for billing and political funding”.
“The PS categorically rejects the allegations of funding outside the strict legal framework,” it added.
Costa “wants, can’t or can’t” answer questions about Banco de Portugal
The PSD party leader said on Thursday that the prime minister “cannot, will not or cannot” answer the party’s questions about its alleged interference in the Banco de Portugal.
The parliamentary leader of the PSD recalled that his bank had addressed 12 questions to the Prime Minister at the end of November to clarify statements made by the former governor of the Banco de Portugal, Carlos Costa, both on the Banif resolution and on the removal of the businesswoman Isabel dos Santos from BIC.
“The PS and the Prime Minister said the issue was not new, it had already been explained and the questions had easy answers. We were surprised on December 27 with a request for an extension,” he recalled.
Last week, Miranda Sarmento quizzed Costa on the subject in the general policy debate, with the prime minister assuring he would respond “very soon”.
“Since the topic was not new, but it was already so old, it took some work to retrieve the documentation which I think the deputy will be very happy to read and which will be attached to my answers. Soon you will receive the answers “, the prime minister then assured.
However, according to Miranda Sarmento, after a week “and almost two months” after asking the questions, the prime minister has still not responded.
“The one who looks down on the country and the Portuguese is the Prime Minister who apparently does not want to, cannot or cannot answer the questions asked,” he warned, as this time he not only demonstrates that the questions “are relevant but also leaves the Prime Minister in a awkward position”.
When asked how long he will wait for the PSD, Miranda Sarmento did not set a date.
“We understand that the prime minister has to provide these answers. If much more time passes, the situation could become unsustainable and we will continue with other parliamentary mechanisms, to the extreme, a committee of inquiry,” he said.
Source: DN
