The practice of expanding the government machinery continues, with excessive spending being a hallmark of the administrations led by Miguel Albuquerque,” stated Lina Pereira in a communiqué released by the party in the region.
“Looking at the positions held by the new regional secretaries, it becomes evident that the PSD continues its traditional practice of rewarding individuals who raise many questions,” she added, addressing the composition of the executive that emerged from the early regional elections held last Sunday (March 23).
As an example, Pereira pointed to the regional secretary for Health and Civil Protection, Micaela Freitas, who “when she was president of the ISSM (Madeira’s Instituto de Segurança Social) received several reprimands from the Court of Auditors, due to the recognized lack of ‘reliability and truthfulness of social security accounts’.
The same court, she noted, raised “many doubts about the lack of transparency in transfers” to private social solidarity institutions (IPSS), and on the other hand, the sector now overseen by Micaela Freitas “is on the verge of collapse” and is “poorly managed,” with the violation of “various rights of its workers and users.”
The JPP leader emphasized that now Miguel Albuquerque and the PSD/CDS coalition must “govern, ensure stability, and fulfill the promises they made, as there are no more excuses.”
The social democrat, who has led the executive since 2015, had, in her view, “the opportunity to form a government without pressure and with time to make the choices he sees fit,” but “there is a demand for effective and efficient management in fundamental sectors for the population and Madeira, quick solutions, with commitment to the execution deadlines, especially in areas like housing, health, cost of living, wages, taxes, the primary sector, and transportation.”
For the JPP, which moved from the second to the first opposition force with the regional legislatives, “this is the moment to let Miguel Albuquerque and his Government organize themselves and start working.”
Lina Pereira reiterated that the JPP “will be a responsible and constructive opposition, but as the largest opposition party, it will be even more determined in the role of the party that most scrutinizes the government, a characteristic recognized by the population.”
The XVI Regional Government of Madeira consists of eight regional secretariats, one more than the previous executive.
The PSD won last Sunday’s election with 23 deputies, missing an absolute majority by one but signed a parliamentary and governmental agreement this week with the CDS-PP, which secured one seat in the Legislative Assembly.
The agreement ensures a parliamentary majority in the region and includes the leader of the Christian Democrats in the archipelago, José Manuel Rodrigues, in the executive.
The JPP elected 11 deputies, the PS eight, Chega three, and IL one.
Miguel Albuquerque was declared a suspect in an investigation regarding corruption suspicions in early 2024. He resigned and was re-elected in May in early elections, but his minority executive fell with the approval of a motion of no confidence in December.
These were the third legislative elections held in Madeira in about a year and a half, with 14 lists contesting in a single district: CDU (PCP/PEV), PSD, Livre, JPP, Nova Direita, PAN, Força Madeira (PTP/MPT/RIR), PS, IL, PPM, BE, Chega, ADN and CDS-PP.
The vote took place 10 months after the previous ones, following the approval of the motion of no confidence presented by Chega – justified with judicial investigations involving members of the Regional Government, including Miguel Albuquerque – and the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly by the President of the Republic.
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