Jardim threatens to sever links with PSD and start own party

According to Filipe Malheiro, one of the senior militants of the PSD Madeira, should the Portuguese Government not be forthcoming with a quick financial solution to Madeira's debt problem, one of the options open to Jardim is to promote 'the mass resignation of militants from the national PSD and initiate immediate procedures to form a new regionalist party structure'.

This radical stance aims to obtain more bargaining power for 'Madeira', namely to extend the debt repayment period to twenty-five years, rather than the three years the 'troika' is conceding to Portugal. To further pressure the Portuguese Government, Jardim is also drafting a memorandum to send to all EU embassies to counteract the 'distorted and even manipulated' information disseminated by the Portuguese Government.