The storm will have got the better of several ministers. A controversy over the severance pay paid to a Secretary of State when she left the management of the public airline TAP before entering the government led this Thursday, December 29 to two new resignations in the Portuguese executive, summoned to be explained by the opposition.
After the Secretary of State (for the Treasury) in question Alexandra Reis, forced to leave the government on Tuesday, the Minister of Infrastructure, in charge of TAP, Pedro Nuno Santos, as well as his Secretary of State Hugo Santos Mendes, presented to their turn this Thursday their resignation.
The “TAPgate”
Pedro Nuno Santos justified his decision due to “how this case is perceived by public opinion” and therefore clarifies “assuming political responsibilities”.
The controversy around the “TAPgate”as the Diario de Noticias newspaper calls it, has continued to swell in recent days after the revelations about the amount of severance pay (500,000 euros) from which Alexandra Reis benefited after leaving the board in February. administration of TAP Air Portugal before the end of his contract.
A few months later, she was appointed head of NAV, a public company responsible for air traffic control, before joining the government in early December as Secretary of State in the Ministry of Finance. Both TAP and NAV are under the supervision of the Ministry of Infrastructure.
“We are facing an epidemic of political crises”
Alexandra Reis rejected any illegality, arguing that she demanded what she was legally entitled to, which the airline confirmed.
But the opposition is up in arms and is calling on the government to urgently explain the conditions of his departure from TAP, while the airline is undergoing a restructuring that has led to staff reductions and wage cuts for many. many employees.
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“We are facing an epidemic of political crises” causing a “instability”deplored Paulo Rangel, vice-president of the PSD (Social Democratic Party, centre-right), the main opposition party, calling on Socialist Prime Minister Antonio Costa to explain himself to Parliament ” from next week “.
The Liberal Initiative formation, which has eight deputies out of the 230 parliamentarians, has already announced that it will present a motion of censure.
“The government is supported by an absolute majority in Parliament and it is able to continue to do its job”assured the Minister of the Environment, Duarte Cordeiro.
“In the future, we will have to learn from this”
This is not the first time that Pedro Nuno Santos, who has held government responsibilities for seven years and who is often presented as a possible successor to the Prime Minister, has found himself under fire from criticism.
In June, he was repudiated by the head of government after announcing the construction of an additional airport in Lisbon.
After this new controversy, “the executive inevitably comes out weakened” with “a tarnished image that undermines its credibility”political scientist Paula do Esprito Santo told AFP.
“In the future, we will have to learn from this. Anyone who enters public office is subject to scrutiny of their past.which has become more demanding, head of state Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa recalled on Wednesday.
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The Portuguese airline group, whose difficulties have increased with the Covid-19 pandemic, was urgently completely renationalised in 2020, in exchange for the application of a restructuring plan imposed by Brussels amounting to 3.2 Billions of Euro’s. The government has announced its intention to reprivatize the Portuguese carrier.
The president of the union of civil aviation pilots (SPAC), Tiago Faria Lopes, who contests the measures of the rescue plan, for his part demanded the resignation of the general manager of the company, the Frenchwoman Christine Ourmières-Widener.
