PS Secretary-General José Luís Carneiro stated on Tuesday, September 1, that the case surrounding Internal Administration Minister Luís Neves is "degrading the political authority" of the State. On the sidelines of a dinner with business leaders in Maputo, where he is visiting, Carneiro argued that Prime Minister Luís Montenegro should not provide "reasons" to enable Chega's "pyrotechnic effects," referring to the party's use of these effects to destabilize democratic institutions.
The PS leader placed responsibility for the case on Luís Montenegro, stating that he transmitted his opinion to the prime minister on July 29 and that only he can assess whether the minister has the conditions to continue in office. Carneiro stressed that dragging out the situation contributes to the political fragility of the prime minister's authority and that the President of the Republic called for urgency in the ongoing investigations.
Internal Administration Minister Luís Neves considered that the "personal and political destruction has exceeded all limits" when Chega's president, André Ventura, compared him to a gangster. At the ceremony commemorating the 148th anniversary of the Madeira PSP Regional Command in Câmara de Lobos, Luís Neves defended that Ventura has been making insinuations and accusations without evidence aimed at destroying his reputation, stating he has "more than 30 years dedicated to public service" and an operational legacy "bulletproof."
André Ventura admitted last week that he would file a motion of censure if the prime minister did not resolve the minister's situation, considering it difficult to back down even after Luís Neves's explanations. The controversy centers on a trailer seized during a drug trafficking operation discovered at a company contracted by the PJ, and the fact that Luís Neves drives a police-seized car.
