“In our surveys, the Portuguese Socialist Party is growing steadily and solidly. The Portuguese people know us well, and the local elections will show that they recognize our commitment to public service,” stated during his visit to Paris, accompanied by Deputy for Portuguese Communities, Paulo Pisco, and the first secretary of the French Socialist Party, Olivier Faure.
The meeting between the socialists took place on the same day as searches were conducted at TAP in connection to an inquiry about compensation paid to a former executive of the airline, a decision that was made by then Infrastructure Minister Pedro Nuno Santos, who is also a former PS leader. José Luís Carneiro chose not to comment, explaining these are “internal matters.”
“I have no idea what’s going on; I can’t comment on what I don’t know,” he stated when queried about the possibility of Pedro Nuno Santos and Hugo Mendes’ electronic communications being made available to the investigation.
In 2022, TAP was involved in a controversy due to a €500,000 settlement paid to then-executive Alexandra Reis for her departure, agreed upon by both parties.
Suspicions involve the practice of harmful administration, receipt or offer of undue advantage, economic participation in business, and abuse of power.
José Luís Carneiro addressed the media after meeting the main leader of the French Socialist Party, who is “also regaining voters’ trust” for “future cooperation.”
“What is vital for us and on our agenda: issues related to housing solutions, health responses, transport and mobility solutions, and improving young workers’ incomes, are today’s concerns and focus my attention, especially since I have no information on the rest,” added the Portuguese Socialist leader.
The cooperation between the Socialist Parties of Portugal and France is “fundamental” and “vital in Europe” to revive European socialism and also “in terms of assertion in each country,” according to José Luís Carneiro.
“We want an economy that creates wealth, that can grow. But it must grow with concerns for social justice, proper distribution of common resources. An economy based on knowledge, sustainable resource use, and one that creates employment, offering qualified and protected jobs,” he added.
The French leader believes “lasting cooperation” will help “regain credibility” and demonstrate that “the alternative is on the left.”
Olivier Faure argued that the main difficulty for the PS in Europe is that “socialists have become as liberal as others,” making them hard to distinguish.
“This is how the far-right, particularly, managed to find a foothold, as they succeeded in making people believe they could be the alternative. But the alternative to liberalism is the left,” Faure explained, citing the United States as an example, where the far-right is “ultra-liberal, ultra-conservative, and always tied to money.”
