The representative of the Republic, Ireneu Barreto, announced, this afternoon, at the São Lourenço Palace, that the current Regional Government will remain in management roles, leaving the President of the Republic to make the final decision on the future of the executive, namely the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly of Madeira from March 24th, which paves the way for new regional legislative elections.
Ireneu Barreto said that Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, with whom he met yesterday in Lisbon, will comment in due course on the political situation in Madeira, but did not indicate the date on which such an intervention will take place. “The President of the Republic is considering it and will announce his position in due course”, declared the representative of the Republic.
The representative of the Republic explained that despite being in management roles, “the Government has all the conditions to work” and can continue to carry out essential and necessary acts, such as the projects supported by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR). “The fact that we are in management has some limitations, but that does not stop this Government from working. I want to reassure the population”, he said.
Instead of maintaining the current Regional Government in management roles, the representative of the Republic could have announced today the appointment of a new executive, with the PSD being responsible for indicating the name that would lead it. Ireneu Barreto explained the reasons why he did not follow this path: “The appointment of a Regional Government, which, although it would have eventual parliamentary support, would not have that which comes from electoral suffrage, and would leave it inevitably subject to being able to become, shortly, dismissed following a dissolution of the Legislative Assembly. In short, I consider it preferable to maintain the current situation of the XIV Regional Government – which will remain in management roles for a few weeks, possibly extended in the event of elections being scheduled –, to appoint a new Regional Government, which, even before knowing the pending issues, could soon also take on management functions”.
The XIV Regional Government, still in office, resigned following the investigation by the Central Department of Investigation and Penal Action (DCIAP) into suspicions of corruption in the Madeiran executive and the Funchal Chamber. Miguel Albuquerque and Pedro Calado were named defendants. In this regard, Ireneu Barreto highlighted today that “the attribution of the status of defendant does not diminish the capacity of the President of the Government to carry out his functions”, this is because “this status is granted to him to better have access to the process and organize his defense” and because “the fair process inherent to a democratic rule of law enshrines the principle of presumption of innocence”.