The vice-president of the Funchal City Council, Carlos Rodrigues, harshly criticized the speech by the Minister of Internal Administration, Luís Neves, during the ceremony celebrating the 148th anniversary of the PSP Regional Command of Madeira, which took place in Câmara de Lobos on September 1st. Rodrigues, who is from the PSD, took to Facebook to express his outrage, classifying the moment as one of the most embarrassing he has witnessed in politics and accusing the government official of "total disrespect" for the police institution.
According to Carlos Rodrigues, Luís Neves took advantage of the ceremony to praise himself, show vanity, and engage in a shouting match with the Chega leader, André Ventura. The local official considered that the moment represented "an elegy to the absurd, a gross discourtesy, and a total violation of the ethics and honor" that should preside over ceremonies of that kind, declaring that he felt "secondhand embarrassment."
In his speech, Luís Neves stated that he was being targeted by "insinuations and lies," but guaranteed that he would not be intimidated and would continue to govern and work. The minister accused André Ventura of spreading "chaos, because it suits him," referring to the insinuations and accusations without evidence that, according to Neves, aim to destroy his reputation. The government official emphasized that he has "over 30 years dedicated to public service" and a "legacy as an operational leader that is bulletproof."
In the week prior to the ceremony, André Ventura had admitted that he would proceed with a motion of censure against the government if the prime minister did not resolve the minister's situation, considering that Luís Neves's behavior had reached a "grotesque" and "unacceptable" level. The minister also criticized the media, accusing it of repeating serious accusations without them being demonstrated, and stated that never once has one of his decisions been overturned by a court.
