“We are here discussing the personal issues of the prime minister, which does not seem normal or healthy in a democracy. We want the country to move forward and to overcome this situation once and for all. For this, it is important that instead of victimizing himself, Luís Montenegro should justify and provide the clarifications the country needs,” stated Inês Sousa Real to journalists in Figueira da Foz, Coimbra district.
“We do not want to believe that the times of Justice are the times of electoral campaigns, and we do not subscribe to the narrative that the prime minister has been using to justify what has been the scrutiny throughout this process,” added the PAN spokesperson.
The prime minister expressed on Tuesday his “astonishment and outrage” at the content of news reports regarding the Spinumviva case, speaking of “shamefulness” and saying he awaits the “analysis and judgment of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.”
The Attorney General’s Office (PGR) clarified that the preventive investigation related to the company Spinumviva is underway and that the Public Prosecutor is still awaiting documents, so the investigation continues.
“There is currently no formed conviction that allows for the closure of the preventive investigation nor has anything been proposed to the Attorney General of the Republic in this regard,” said a statement from the PGR.
The leader of the People–Animals–Nature party argued that once “all information is provided to the Transparency Entity and also within the scope of the ongoing judicial process [the preventive investigation], the problem will be resolved sooner, allowing us to focus on the country’s issues rather than the prime minister’s personal issues.”
She recalled that since the outset of the Spinumviva case, PAN emphasized the need for transparency and information “and that Luís Montenegro should permanently remove his ‘businessman hat’ to focus full-time as prime minister.”
During the visit today to the Animal Protection Association of Figueira da Foz (APAFF), accompanied by elements from the coalition list ‘Evoluir Figueira’ (Bloco de Esquerda/Livre/PAN) running in the upcoming local elections, Inês Sousa Real highlighted the association’s plight, which faces eviction and is attempting to purchase the land it has occupied for two decades on the city’s outskirts.
“It is essential that the municipality applies for the funds provided in the State Budget to assist this association and the others in the area, in this specific case to secure its continued presence on this land,” she summarized.
She noted that the state supports municipalities in applying for sterilization campaigns to control animal overpopulation or to assist needy families in accessing pet food and veterinary medications.
“Municipalities must support those on the ground because they often take on the roles of the State, particularly the municipal councils,” emphasized the PAN spokesperson.
Addressing the municipal executive led by Pedro Santana Lopes, who is running again for the position with a coalition party formed by the PSD and CDS-PP, Inês Sousa Real called for more investment in animal welfare.
“For our coalition, it was crucial for [the City Council] to be more concerned with animal welfare, and environmental welfare too, because the money sometimes spent on parties or fireworks—which are neither silent nor ecological—could be redirected to help these associations,” she stressed.
