The Secretary-General of the Socialist Party (PS), Pedro Nuno Santos, stated on Tuesday his hope that it will “not be necessary” to establish a parliamentary inquiry commission into Luís Montenegro’s family business, Spinumviva, acknowledging the possibility of dropping the committee proposal.
During the Fábrica 2030 conference in Lisbon, he expressed, “I have the expectation that, by the end of the electoral campaign, we can clarify everything that still needs clarification.”
Luís Montenegro Responds: “Focused on Addressing Real Issues”
While visiting the island of Madeira, Luís Montenegro told journalists he had not heard the opposition leader’s statements.
“I didn’t hear [Pedro Nuno Santos’ remarks], but I have been focused, since the start of this pre-campaign, of this electoral process, on continuing to provide Portuguese people with solutions to the real issues they face daily and want to overcome,” said Montenegro, emphasizing that this is where his focus will remain.
In his speech during the presentation of the PSD/CDS-PP coalition candidates for the Madeira electoral district in the May 18 legislative elections, the outgoing prime minister reiterated that the country is experiencing a political crisis “because the opposition did not want to ensure the stability” that the government achieved “through daily work.”
“We only went to elections because the opposition feared the government’s success and thought more about themselves, their party interests, than the people’s interests,” he commented.
The president of the PSD, Luís Montenegro, today refused to comment on the statements made by the PS leader, who admitted the possibility of discarding a parliamentary inquiry commission into Spinumviva, emphasizing that he is focused on addressing the “real issues” faced by the Portuguese people.
Lusa | 21:16 – 22/04/2025
Rui Rocha Accuses Pedro Nuno Santos of “Irresponsibility”
“Either Pedro Nuno Santos has access to information that the general public does not have – in which case, he should be the first to make it available to the Portuguese – or, if that’s not the case and he has the same information as a month ago, it’s absolutely surprising, to not say irresponsible,” stated Rui Rocha, president of the Liberal Initiative, following the PS leader’s comments on potentially dropping the parliamentary inquiry commission.
Rui Rocha emphasized it is irresponsible “that someone who wanted to bring the country into a crisis situation now dismisses what was their fundamental proposal to clarify everything, which was the parliamentary inquiry commission.”
“It would be absolutely surprising if, after the AD and Luís Montenegro’s irresponsibility that led the country to a dead end, which is to have unwanted elections (…), we have an opposition leader who insisted on a tool, stood firm on it, and now dismisses it without any new relevant information,” he considered.
The leader of the IL today accused the PS Secretary-General, Pedro Nuno Santos, of irresponsibility by admitting to dropping a parliamentary inquiry commission into Spinumviva, deeming it “absolutely surprising” to do so without new information on the case.
Lusa | 16:11 – 22/04/2025
It should be recalled that the PS leader announced in March the establishment of a potestative parliamentary inquiry commission concerning Luís Montenegro’s family business, arguing that a CPI was a tool available to the party to clarify doubts.
