“The Government did not listen to us. However, I read the parliamentary leader of the PSD’s statement, accepting an independent technical commission, with attention and a positive outlook. It seems like a good start, so we will approve it in the Assembly of the Republic to evaluate what went well and what did not,” he told journalists in Viseu.
At the opening session of the 21st edition of the PSD’s Summer University, Hugo Soares deemed Chega’s proposal for an inquiry into the fires since 2017 as “inappropriate and useless” but looked “favorably” on the PS’s idea for a new independent technical commission.
Hugo Soares differentiated the proposals from the two main opposition parties made in recent weeks, expressing a favorable view of the PS’s idea to create a new independent technical commission, “far from politicians, far from partisan struggles,” despite accusing the socialists of being “a bit light in their criticism of the Government.”
The PSD parliamentary leader today considered Chega’s proposal for an inquiry into the fires since 2017 as “inappropriate and useless” but looked “favorably” on the PS’s idea for a new independent technical commission.
José Luís Carneiro told journalists that the PS, besides proposing the establishment of an independent technical commission, was the first party to present proposals to prevent repeated mistakes.
“If the Government had listened, it would have activated the European Civil Protection Mechanism around August 1, before needing to resort to aerial means from Morocco,” he emphasized.
According to the socialist leader, “had the Government listened, it would have declared a state of contingency,” allowing “the mobilization of public and private means” for activities like “opening firebreaks, earthworks, and mobilizing excavators.”
“Then, I proposed declaring a state of calamity to mobilize support for those in need to recover production, rehabilitate and protect populations, and give new life to local communities,” he added.
In his opinion, “Government officials should listen to those who were in the roles because they can provide valuable contributions.”
“When I was in Internal Administration, I listened to former ministers from both the PS and the PSD,” he said, explaining that the aim was to avoid the same mistakes in an area “vital for safeguarding people’s lives, their heritage, and possessions.”
José Luís Carneiro recalled that after the fires in Serra da Estrela, when he was a minister, he invited “the top national experts, around 30, who made their recommendations.”
“Several of those recommendations were integrated into the fire-fighting strategy for 2023 and 2024 and were published in a book edited by the Ministry of Science with contributions from Internal Administration. What I am advocating is what I defended when I was also the Minister of Internal Administration,” he stressed.
