Reconstruction Funding

According to the Court Auditors, the Regional Government of Madeira has applied only a quarter of the funding received for reconstruction of the damages caused by the 20^th February storm. The report revealed that the Regional Government had received a total of 191,3 million Euros, but had only expended 53,6 million of that amount.

The National Government was to contribute 740 million Euros, over a period of four years, and the Regional Government, the remaining 340 million.

The Court Auditors verified that the total payments made by Regional Government in 2010 amounted to 56,38 Million Euros and noted the low contribution of the Regional Government (0,2% of this total), most of which was spent on compensations for damaged vehicles.

Source: I newspaper

Commission of Elections snubbed by President of Parliament

Miguel Mendonça, the chairperson of the Regional Parliament, and most important regional figure in terms of protocol, has refused to greet the National Commission of Elections in the Regional Parliament. President Jardim had earlier issued orders that no one of his party should meet with the Commission.

Mendonça refused to greet the Commission stating agenda problems, but there is no reason why the Commission should not be received by one of the Deputy-Chairs of the Parliament, one of whom is the regional socialist leader, Jacinto Serrão.

Meanwhile, President Jardim carries on using official ceremonies to insult his critics and to invite the population to his party-political rally, to be held on the 31is of July. This is a golden opportunity for visitors to witness the ranting speeches of a power-mad politician, who has clung to power for over three decades.

The Joke Parliament

The Regional Parliament set the following made-to-measure rules of intervention to discuss the budget rectification:

a. The Government disposes of 15 minutes to present the budget rectification.

b. Parliamentarians are allowed to ask one single question, not exceeding the time limit of one minute.

c. Questions cannot be reformulated

d. The President disposes of one minute to answer each question.

e. No protests are allowed.

f. Following this, each group, in the following order is allowed to intervene for the following period:

g. PSD: 34 minutes; PS: 8 minutes; PCP: 3 minutes; CDS: 3 minutes; Bloco, PND and MPT 2 minutes each.

h. No protests are allowed.

i. The Government is allowed 15 minutes to respond.

j. No further requests for questions or clarifications allowed.

k. The parties are then allowed a further intervention for the same period above (g), but in reverse order.

l. The Government is allowed to intervene FOR AN UNLIMITED PERIOD OF TIME.

Obviously this is not a Parliament where there is any room for debate or exchange of ideas.

Ruffians, drunkards, drug-addicts and tramps

In an opinion peice published in the government-funded Jornal da Madeira on the 4th of July and in the PSD paper Madeira Livre, President Jardim wrote that only ruffians, drunkards, drug addicts and tramps' showed interest in the opposition parties: the majority of the voting public. Charming!

President refuses debates with ‘traitors’

The National Commission of Elections is coming to Madeira form the 17^th to the 20th of July, to hold meetings with the press in the run up to the regional elections in Madeira.

In response to this news, President Jardim accused the National Commission of Elections and the Press Regulation Entity of coming to Madeira to influence the elections against the Regional Government. Asked whether he would participate in debates, Jardim refused the idea, saying he does not sit with ‘traitors’. He added that neither Government, nor the Parliament, nor his own Party or the Jornal da Madeira would receive the Commission or hold any contacts with it, since he does not recognize its authority.

One of the issues on the agenda is sure to be the case of the state-funded newspaper,  Jornal da Madeira. During the legislative elections, in June, the Commission requested that the Jornal either suspend the collaboration of election candidates or included opinion pieces from candidates of all parties. The Jornal duly suspended President Jardim’s articles, but continued to only publish opinion pieces of members of his party, which naturally slated all the other parties. Although state entities have moved at snail-pace to respond to the many complaints against this situation, each small decision has made Jardim’s position increasingly untenable.

Independence flags hoisted on the 1st of July

About 50 flags of the Madeira Liberation Front (FLAMA) were hoisted all round the island to celebrate Madeira day (dia da Região). FLAMA, which between 1974 and 78 used terrorist actions such as car bombs to promote the independence of Madeira, has long thought to be extinct. Its former political leaders said as much, last year, denying any involvement of FLAMA in a similar flag-hoisting action. 

The flag-hoisting was used by Jardim to send Lisbon the message that it risks encouraging the growth of FLAMA if it does not accede to the Madeiran people's demands (i.e. his own). Jardim has always used the phantom of this terrorist movement to scare national governments into giving in to his demands and it is more than likely that elements of the ruling PSD party are behind this latest action. 

PSD parliamentarians are the driving force behind the organization Forum for Autonomy, which shares an almost identical acronym: FAMA. The forum issues 'on-demand' statements in favor of independence.

Moody's banned from Madeira

The rating agency Moody's is barred from entering public administration in Madeira, stated President Jardim on the 7th of July, at a public ceremony, after Moody's attributed Madeira a B1 rating. The Regional Government has seen its rating drop from Aa3, in July 2010, to A2 in December 2010, to Baa2 in March 2011, to Baa3 in April and now to B1. The level of Government debt has worried opposition parties for many years, but apparently is only now being acknowledged by the rating agencies. The Regional Government is unable to pay suppliers and is in danger of defaulting to banks. The large-scale public construction projects  - the emblem of the 35-year-old Jardim regime - have come to a halt, with banks refusing to take further risks. The Barreiros football stadium is one example. Already in February, faced with difficulties in obtaining further bank financing, Jardim called on the business community to give the banks a 'scare'. 'Its up to you to distinguish which are the financial companies still willing to collaborate with the economy and which are those who are unwilling.' He had previously threatened to announce which banks were not being cooperative with the Regional Government. Most banks remain unmoved by Jardim's  (tongue) muscle-flexing.