By Catarina Demony
LISBON (Reuters) – Portugal’s opposition parties strongly criticised the Socialist government’s vetting procedures on Thursday after a string of high-level scandals and resignations in recent weeks over allegations of past misconduct or questionable practices.
In the latest instance, the Correio da Manha newspaper reported on Thursday that the newly appointed secretary of agriculture, Carla Pereira, allegedly had bank accounts seized due to a corruption investigation into her husband, a former mayor.
Several opposition parties demanded that she be fired. Her husband, Americo Pereira, said only he was being investigated and not his wife. The Agriculture Ministry said in a statement that Carla Pereira has not been accused of any crimes and it saw no reasons for her to leave her job. Pereira was not available to comment.
The Socialists, led by Prime Minister Antonio Costa, won an outright parliamentary majority in an election a year ago but the government has had a bumpy ride since then, with 10 ministers and secretaries of state leaving their roles.
In late December, Infrastructure Minister Pedro Nuno Santos quit following public backlash over a hefty severance pay a new Treasury secretary had received from state-owned airline TAP, which fell under his remit. The secretary also resigned.
In November, Costa’s right-hand man, Miguel Alves, stepped down after being formally accused by public prosecutors of malfeasance during his time as a mayor in 2015-16. Alves has denied wrongdoing.
“We say no to incompetence and instability…We need a new government and we need it now,” Joao Contrim, leader of the small but vocal Liberal Initiative party, told parliament, calling on lawmakers to support a motion of no-confidence.
However, the vote will almost certain fail, given the Socialists’ majority and lack of support from most other parties.
Catarina Martins, head of the Left Bloc, said there were too many questionable appointments, adding that “for each case closed, a new case opens”.
Responding to the criticism, Costa told parliament he would propose to the president a new vetting system for the period between nominations and actual appointments of government officials to “ensure greater transparency and trust”.
Still, he largely played down the issue, saying that what really mattered to the Portuguese was not the government’s line-up but his administration’s results, such as solid economic growth, lower unemployment and lower public debt.
(Reporting by Catarina Demony; Additional reporting by Patricia Rua; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Frances Kerry)
