The Galp furore continues with the head of the CDS-PP, Assunção Cristas demanding that parliament fully discusses the ‘tickets for favours’ trip, while accusing the prime minister of hiding away until the dust has settled.
Cristas says the prime minister’s attitude to revelations that three secretaries of state went on a trip paid for by Galp to watch the Euro2016 football "is inadmissible."
The CDS-PP president said of PM António Costa "you can not hide and say nothing," and advised him of the error of his ways of "thinking that everything is solved by returning the money."
The Secretaries of State, Rocha Andrade, Fiscal Affairs, Jorge Costa Oliveira, Internationalisation and João Vasconcelos, Industry all have, or say they will, pay for the cost of their seats on a specially chartered aeroplane and for the Euro2016 tickets, from their own pockets.
All three claim they have done nothing wrong yet have rushed to reimburse Galp for the trip.
Cristas announced this afternoon that she has requested the parliamentary standing committee for a full statement from the government, while accusing the PM of hiding from the issue.
"The CDS thinks that the prime minister's attitude so far is unacceptable. You can not hide and say nothing, which means he is colluding with this situation. We learned that the prime minister feels the matter is resolved by returning the money," said Cristas.
Cristas also criticised the government’s proposal to create a code of conduct for senior state officials because there already is one aimed at 'transparency in public office,' in addition to the current code of conduct for Treasury officials.
The Minister of State and Foreign Affairs, Augusto Santos Silva, who is in charge while the prime minister takes his summer holidays, said “the case is closed" as the three officials have paid Galp for the trip to watch Portugal play football in France.
Cristas is quick to refer to press reports showing that Galp currently is in court over its decision not to pay a €100 million ‘special energy tax.’ Galp also owes last year’s corporation tax of over €200 million, plus taxes listed in eight other cases where the energy giant disagrees with the taxman over monies owed.
Quick to make comparisons between Galp’s tax position and that of the population, Cristas noted the current “tax on the beaches for vendors of donuts and ice creams. We see many families waiting for a refund from the IRS that still has not reached their bank accounts and the same Secretary of State (as travelled at Galp’s expense) announced that he is to increase IMI property tax that affects the entire middle class.”
The Minister of State and Foreign Affairs says the secretaries of state implicated in the ‘tickets for favours’ story "have all the conditions to remain in office,” adding rather weakly that the trip was "an initiative to mobilise public support for the national soccer team in Europe 2016."
Cristas went to Euro2016 at the invitation of the Portuguese Football Federation as part of an official entourage.
See also: 'Galp flew top Portuguese politicians to Euro2016'
