“If Carlos Moedas were consistent with his statements, he would have to, in conscience, make a decision on this matter,” said Paulo Raimundo, implying that the mayor is being inconsistent and should have resigned following the derailment of the Glória elevator last Wednesday in Lisbon, which caused 16 deaths.
Paulo Raimundo was referring to the statements made by the current president of the Lisbon City Council in 2021, after the controversy known as “Russiagate,” when Carlos Moedas (PSD) called for the resignation of the then-president of the municipality, Fernando Medina (PS), stating that a “new type of politician” was needed, one who would take responsibility even in the face of a technical error.
The communist leader, speaking to the Lusa news agency during a visit to the Harvest Festival in Palmela, Setúbal district, also criticized the outsourcing of Carris’s maintenance, holding both the PS and PSD accountable for this decision.
“We are still awaiting the final conclusions of the investigations being conducted, but we can already assume, which I think is correct, that the option to outsource the maintenance of Carris was a wrong decision,” he said.
“And that wrong decision—let’s be fair—was not [only] the responsibility of the PSD; it was the responsibility of both the PS and PSD. Therefore, I would say that the political responsibilities are broader,” added Paulo Raimundo.
Accompanied by CDU’s candidate for the presidency of the Palmela City Council in the October 12 municipal elections, Ana Teresa Vicente, the PCP leader toured various regional product stands at the Harvest Festival and expressed confidence in another victory in a municipality with a communist majority since the first municipal elections after the 1974 revolution.
“We are very confident, confident in the work we have done, confident in our way of working, confident because we have a team connected to the populations. We do not do everything well; we do not make that claim, but we are convinced that we have a project, as can be seen here in Palmela, that meets the needs of the populations,” he said.
“And we are committed to strengthening [the current CDU majority] with a renewed, but knowledgeable team. We are in the electoral race not just to maintain municipal management, but to enhance the ability to intervene even more here in Palmela,” he stressed.
For the communist leader, the upcoming municipal elections also constitute an opportunity to strengthen CDU’s position in the Lisbon City Council and “counteract” what he considered the “PSD-PS cycle,” the two political forces he had just held responsible for outsourcing Carris’s maintenance.
