Madeira, a hole in the Atlantic

Vitor Matos, http://political.portugaldailyview.com/?p=35

As a friend of mine says, the more you hit the bottom, the lower it actually gets. The saying is simple and yet full of wisdom. The same seems to happen with the “holes” in the state’s accounts. The more you dig in search of holes, the more holes you actually find. What is strange is the idea that not many holes were being found before because no one was looking for them. The problem here goes under the name of Madeira, whose public accounts are starting to resemble a Swiss cheese. Foreigners know it as “The Pearl of the Atlantic”, but the Portuguese know it is only a formal democracy.

The Regional Government of Madeira, led by Alberto João Jardim since 1978, concealed from the state’s watchdogs some €1.8 billion in expenditure. If Portugal was well regarded in the international arena for bravely following the Troika’s plan and for even venturing further than was demanded by the international lenders in the first place, it has been struck a blow from the inside and sees itself now lowered to the level of Greece – the swindlers of public accounts.

Yet it is worth bearing in mind that the central government has nothing to do with the ravings of Alberto João Jardim. This historical member of PSD – the same party to which Prime Minister Passos Coelho belongs and whom he has already disavowed – is the politician who’s remained more years in power in the whole of Europe and the Western world. Other than him, perhaps only a few African dictators might have more “experience” in governing people.

Alberto João Jardim governs “his” island as a formal democracy. Since 1978 he has been consecutively elected with an absolute majority, he has never had internal rivals, freedom of the press on the island is a joke, the opposition parties are yet another joke and he himself is a lout, although more intelligent and more cunning than his populism leads to believe. He has already appeared in his underpants on the cover of a tabloid newspaper saying: “I don’t give a shit about the Portuguese Parliament.”

One episode reported in a non-authorised biography by journalist Maria Henrique Espada reveals the culture that led to the debacle in the public accounts and the budgetary hide-and-seek game. In 1979, the current President of the Republic, Cavaco Silva, was then Minister of Finance. During a visit to the island, he noticed that the small municipality of São Vicente had major public works going on everywhere. Cavaco asked what the council’s budget was. The mayor replied. The minister was surprised and said that that was the total budget for an entire region on the continent. “What’s it to do with me?”, the mayor answered back. Cavaco lost his temper: “You should be in jail!…” And he should have company.