In remarks to reporters during a rally in Beja, Paulo Raimundo stated he does not want to “feed the narrative” that the news about the Sinumviva case is “timely and tailored” during the election campaign but issued a challenge to the prime minister.
“If the prime minister wants to raise doubts about the timing of the judiciary, he must take responsibility,” he stated, reinforcing that if Luís Montenegro “decided to raise doubts about the judiciary’s timing, he will have to answer for that.”
Raimundo asserted that, for the PCP, “the country should have been spared this Spinumviva drama,” reiterating that when initial reports about Montenegro’s family company surfaced, he himself should have “taken the step to resign” to “protect his image and the country.”
The general secretary of the PCP noted that the prime minister chose to “force elections, thinking that elections would solve this problem,” but now, “here it is again.”
“Judicially, let everything be investigated. Politically, someone will have to draw conclusions from this whole process. It won’t be us; it will be him,” he predicted.
Asked whether he advocates the prime minister’s resignation, Raimundo responded, “for what?” and stated he never called for Luís Montenegro’s resignation, only emphasizing that the proper action was for the prime minister to resign once news broke.
“What should have been said was: in view of this, to avoid raising doubts, to prevent concerns about profound instability, I resign,” he stated, while declining to comment on whether Luís Montenegro is fit for office, citing the issue as unchanged from six months ago.
“Nothing has changed. The formal, judicial matters have their path. Politically, the situation is exactly the same as it was six months ago,” he remarked.
This Tuesday, the prime minister expressed being “stunned and outraged” by the content of the reports about the Spinumviva case, describing them as “shameless” and stating he awaits the “analysis and judgment of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.”
The Attorney General’s Office (PGR) clarified that the preliminary investigation into the Spinumviva company is ongoing, with the Public Prosecutor still awaiting documents, meaning the investigation continues.
“Thus, there is currently no formed conviction to close the mentioned preliminary investigation, nor has anything been proposed to the Attorney General within this scope,” stated a PGR communiqué.
