The PSD believed that the Finance Minister was “even more politically derogatory” this Monday, arguing that more “political conclusions” were needed from the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) report on the compensation paid to Alexandra Trip was awarded.
At a press conference at the party’s national headquarters, However, PSD Vice-President Miguel Pinto Luz refused to ask for Fernando Medina’s resignation, as this decision is up to him and the Prime Minister.
Regarding the Government’s decision to exonerate the Chairman of the Board of Directors and the Executive Chairman of TAP, Manuel Beja and Christine Ourmières-Widener, following the IGF report on the departure of Alexandra Reis from the company , the PSD leader considered the “obvious conclusions”.
However, and given that “many clarifications still need to be made” in this particular case, the PSD will insist on hearing both in the ongoing parliamentary committee of inquiry.
“This will be the stage par excellence to know the truth and the PSD wants to know the magnitude of this debacle. The PSD assumes all responsibilities for the past, but demands from the government, Fernando Medina and António Costa, that they take over from them,” he said. .
“We will have to fully clarify Fernando Medina’s reasons for choosing Alexandra Reis as his Secretary of State for Finance”
For the PSD, the illegalities in Alexandra Reis’ compensation “cannot be considered a mere issue of TAP’s internal forum, they are a political matter and are the direct responsibility of the company’s tutelage”.
“We will have to fully clarify Fernando Medina’s reasons for choosing Alexandra Reis as his Secretary of State for Finance,” he defended, as today was “another unlucky day for TAP”.
Faced with journalists’ insistence on whether the PSD defends Medina’s departure from government, Pinto Luz primarily relegated that responsibility to António Costa.
“These decisions are up to the Prime Minister, he is responsible for his squad, it is up to him and the Finance Minister himself to learn these lessons (…) Today more lessons were needed in the political arena, because today we have a finance minister who is smaller and less able to complete his job,” he said.
The IGF has concluded that the agreement signed for Alexandra Reis’ departure from TAP is null and void, the government said today, which will ask for compensation to be returned.
Following the report’s conclusions, the government fired the chairman of the board and executive chairman of TAP, Manuel Beja and Christine Ourmières-Widener, and announced that it had chosen Luís Silva Rodrigues, who currently heads Sata, to take on both duties to take on. positions. .
Miguel Pinto Luz assured that the PSD has not yet had time to analyze in detail the IGF report released during the government press conference, but considered the already known conclusions “of enormous seriousness, far from unexpected”.
The vice-president of the PSD pointed out that “illegal compensation”, with the government’s permission, was awarded to someone “of Fernando Medina’s trust”, who chose Alexandra Reis as Secretary of State for Finance, a position from which she eventually resigned of December in response to this controversy.
“There are no longer any doubts about the custody’s knowledge,” he said, noting that this case is “shrouded in a thick fog, contradictions and an attempt to evade accountability.
Miguel Pinto Luz listed some questions that, according to the PSD, have not yet received answers: “Did Alexandra Reis resign or was she fired? If she was fired, for what reason? Do the reasons for her resignation keep her compatible to become president of NAV “After all this indemnification, who knows what is the role of State-appointed administrators and, in particular, of the Minister of Finance?”.
“The government’s policy in managing the TAP file is a disaster and a mess, too expensive to hide and forget,” he said, pointing out that “on an ideological whim” the government is pushing for the privatization of the airline. reversed and the Portuguese have already invested more than 3 billion euros.
Pinto Luz also accused the government of managing state affairs with “lightness and lightness”, recalling the delivery of authorization via telephone message from former Infrastructure Minister Pedro Nuno Santos for this fee.
Last December, Alexandra Reis took office as Secretary of State for Finance, after subsequently sparking controversy over the compensation she received when she left the state airline (500,000 euros).
News updated at 20:03
Source: DN
