Alexandra Leitão, former Secretary of State for Education and former Minister of Administrative Modernization in the governments of António Costa, considers that Miguel Alves, Undersecretary of State of the President of the Government, still does not give full explanations about the case in which he was involved and that his continuity in the Socialist Executive is “creating unnecessary vulnerability” in Costa’s team.

In the opinion space that she shares with António Lobo Xavier and Pacheco Pereira, on CNN Portugal, Alexandra Leitão began by talking about Miguel Alves taking two weeks to talk about the fact that he guaranteed, when he was mayor of Caminho, an advance of 300 thousand euros to a businessman in exchange for the construction of a multipurpose pavilion that, two years after the signing of the contract, has not even come to fruition.

For the socialist, the “silence” of Miguel Alves “was becoming excessive.” “I was absolutely unacceptable that the silence had not been broken”, he began, before adding: “Politicians have the same rights as other citizens, but they have more duties because the people have entrusted them, through voting, for example, with the use of money public”.

Silence that Miguel Alves undid this Sunday, in an interview with JN and TSF. Still, the former minister was not convinced. “The interview left me embarrassed. I stayed the same. The case seems confusing to me. I find it strange. I was not particularly enlightened by the interview, ”she repeated.

Alexandra Leitão then referred to two moments in the interview with Miguel Alves: the first in which the Undersecretary of State justifies the media attention given to the case with the fact that he is from Caminha and does not belong to the bubble Lisbon; and a second moment in which Miguel Alves himself stated that the case only gained new relevance because he joined the Government, implying that he was being politically persecuted.

Once again, these two arguments did not convince the socialist. “We’ll see, let’s not play. No one persecutes anyone for being from here or for coming from there. I don’t think it’s fair to say that’s what it’s all about. [Quanto às notícias] I think it is normal. It is a normal count. We have to live with that. I don’t see anything there that bothers me,” she said.

Miguel Alves breaks the silence after controversy: “I am neither a bandit nor a fool”

Continuity in the Government creates “unnecessary vulnerability”

The former ruler would go even further. In addition to this specific case, the Observer revealed this week that Miguel Alves is the defendant in two trials and is suspected of prevarication and other crimes allegedly committed when he was mayor of Caminha.

Now, Alexandra Leitão recalled that three former Secretaries of State left the team captained by António Costa himself while he was setting up “Galpgate” and questioned the double standard.

“In earlier times, in earlier administrations of the same prime minister, there were people constituted as defendants and the rule that there was was ‘the defendants were constituted, leave the government’.

More: there was in the preparation of the lists, for the legislative ones of 2019 and 2022, there were people who were left off the lists because they were accused”, insisted the socialist, before finishing: “If there is a criterion, I am frank : is to create a vulnerability unnecessary. I find this case a bit incomprehensible.”

Miguel Alves. António Costa’s undersecretary of state is, after all, accused in not one, but two cases