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Miguel Albuquerque received the DN at the official residence of the Regional Government of Madeira, in Funchal. The city that the PSD wants to recover in the next municipal elections, in coalition with the CDS-PP. In the middle of the Salão Nobre, the leader who succeeded Alberto João Jardim spoke about the way in which the island he leads is facing the pandemic, in a different strategy from the rest of the country, and about the future of the region beyond tourism .
Out of the conversation, and only for reasons of justice secrecy, as highlighted, is the comment on the recent raids by the Public Ministry (MP) and the Judicial Police. These are the sale of Quinta do Arco and the concession of the Madeira Free Zone to the Pestana Group. But the Madeiran president did not shy away from sending internal messages to Rui Rio because of the way he expressed his ideas, nor did he skimp on praising Passos Coelho, making it clear that the return of the former prime minister is welcome. As for his future, Miguel Albuquerque shows that he can be out of Madeira.
How do you rate Rui Rio in the leadership of PSD?
The PSD lives a dilemma in strategic terms: on the one hand, it has to assert itself with a policy in the center to be an alternative to the government, on the other hand, it has to make a different policy and present alternative projects, which creates difficulty in any situation. leadership. Right now, I think the PSD’s biggest difficulty has been getting the message across. If you look at PSD’s economic program, it is very well done and presents a real alternative to what we have not had for over 20 years: economic growth. But it is difficult to get the message across.
The question was whether or not he agreed with Rui Rio’s PSD strategy …
I was one of the first to say that the PSD has to carry out a policy in the center, but it must be understood with the forces of the right without complexes. As an alternative concert. In fact, as the PS did with the left and the extreme left.
… and with all the force of the right, is it enough?
Chega is a party like several that exist in Europe, and the PSD, to form an instrumental post-electoral alliance, as happened in the Azores, does not have to share certain principles that Chega defends. In the same way that the PS, being a party of democratic pluralism, made an alliance but does not share, I believe, the totalitarian principles of the PCP or the Trotskyism of the Left Bloc. Anyone with memory knows what I’m talking about.
For a few months, the name of Passos Coelho and his eventual return have been mentioned in some sectors of the PSD. He was a supporter of Passos Coelho. Would you like me to come back?
Right now there is an elected leader in Congress that we must respect. Now, the name Passos Coelho continues to scare the left, as well as that of Cavaco Silva, who was the man who defeated the left four times, was in power for 10 years and was President of the Republic for two terms. Passos Coelho assumed a very difficult situation in the country, of total collapse led by the PS, and had the courage and determination to do what was necessary. Whether it was excessive or not, history will evaluate.
And, in your opinion, was it excessive?
It’s easy to talk after the fact … but in essence we went to get 78 million euros to pay the salaries. But there were also very serious mistakes on the part of the European Union, and especially its central powers. It was a very difficult period and the country owes Passos Coelho an invaluable service as Prime Minister and his government.
And what is your current role in the PSD at the national level? He even considered running for President of the Republic …
I reflected, but I believe that at this moment my role is the service that I give to my country to lead this region. But I have never ruled out the national situation, I evaluate it and I believe that this Resilience Plan is a great opportunity to look at the country’s recovery goals and know where we want to go. And this path is only one: a decisive and important commitment in the business sector, especially in the new generation, who have more training, a commitment also to technology, training, science, innovation, so that we have a business fabric competitive, which brings wealth to the country and creates high-paying jobs to offset its competitive disadvantages.
“We do not have a soft speech in defense of what are the interests in Madeira, and when I say this, it is the interests of Portugal here in Madeira! That this is Portugal.”
And are there any obstacles to this?
The State is captured by a set of interests that make economic growth not consistent and reliable. Our objective in Madeira is to reduce the weight of tourism in our GDP, which is excessive (24%). We have made a commitment to technology, we have 150 researchers and today the 27 technology companies that we have here in Madeira earn 75 million euros, and with a tendency to grow. We bet on digital nomads. We have over a thousand here and over 1,100 Americans. And we want to disseminate the strategic plan for the sea, which is very well done. It is fundamental in the Resilience plan to take the leading companies, as they exist here, in Funchal, or in Aveiro, for example. We have to take advantage of what we have.
How has your relationship with the Prime Minister been?
Before the elections, we had a few fights, which is normal. I have known him since he was mayor of Lisbon and we have a good institutional relationship. It is clear that we have conflicts, but relations are more or less stabilized, let’s see now … because we have a set of projects that we want to start. But when I make the affirmations it is not for me, it is to develop my country in the Autonomous Region of Madeira.
And how do you assess the performance of the António Costa government in relation to the pandemic? Your strategy in Madeira was different …
I think there was an overconfidence, in fact, which also happened in most European countries. But I never had it. They alerted me immediately in February, because we did a first study and we realized that COVID-19 was going to be something very complicated. It is not controlled by covid, it is contained. Hence the decision to close the airports, which was the best thing we did. And we did two more things: the entry and exit control system through tests – there were those who did not want it in Europe for the value of the investment; and, secondly, the structure we create in mobile phones to monitor cases. And now we are working, but tourism is very low because the English and German markets are still closed. And the curfew is good too. We close at 6 pm on weekends and at 7 pm during the week, and stores always close an hour earlier. We know that most of the fellowship occurs after these hours. We have had cases, but it is going well.
“The PSD, to form an instrumental post-electoral alliance, as in the Azores, does not have to share certain principles that Chega defends.”
But, compared to other islands, like the Azores or even further afield, New Zealand, things didn’t turn out so well …
Not initially, but since we never closed … It was a deliberate option, you have to keep the economy going and also think from the psychological point of view of the population. So if we have the situation under control, without uncontrolled transmission chains, we can keep the economy going.
But looking at the continent, it seems that Madeira is much more comfortable with the pandemic. Maybe too comfortable …
No, if you walk down the street, people comply, walk with masks and respect social distance. It was internalized that this is a new reality. In fact, our schools are open until the 6th year and have not had cases, the students and teachers comply.
In general, do you think Europe will change with the pandemic?
One thing changed. Europe has begun to realize that self-reliance is one of the fundamental principles. Europe cannot depend on the laboratories and the pharmaceutical sector of China. Food self-sufficiency is essential, and in the case of Portugal we are capable of producing and exporting everything. We have to learn from a people that has already done it: the Netherlands, a country the size of Alentejo, with 17 million inhabitants, which produces everything.
You mentioned the Netherlands and that brings us to the issue of the Madeira Free Trade Zone. How is the situation?
I explain. The Free Zone is not from Madeira, it is the International Business Center, which is Portuguese and must be assumed by the country. The large Portuguese companies that want to internationalize are in the Netherlands. Why are they there and not in Portugal? Because the country has never internalized the ability to have a group of companies with an international character and vocation. The International Business Center has always been a stumbling block for those who think that what is not produced should be distributed. Much of the anachronistic and political mindset of the country still centers on the revolt and takeover of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg in 1917, and has been going on for some time. There is a country with great inequalities because it does not produce or create wealth to distribute. We have to create wealth and then distribute it fairly.
We are in the year of the municipalities, I suppose that the main objective is to reconquer the City Council of Funchal, lost in 2013?
It is a goal that we set ourselves. And we are going to present the best candidate, which is the Vice President of the Regional Government of Madeira, Dr. Pedro Calado.
In coalition?
Yes, it will be in coalition with the CDS. It is not yet approved by the political commission, which will only happen after Easter. It will be with the CDS, but we can open ourselves to other parts, we still don’t know.
And what is the strategy for this eventual recovery of the camera?
It is not very difficult, Funchal lived from the epiphenomena of propaganda. The PSD has been in power for many years and it is normal for the new generations to get a little tired. But I think that we continue to respond to the expectations of the population, first of all because we do not have a soft speech in defense of what the interests are in Madeira, and when I say these are the interests of Portugal here! That this is Portugal. Second, this phenomenon of the Funchal City Council is typical, because a person who is not well known [n.r.: Paulo Cafofo] that he was smiling and friendly. He was chosen. Eight years have passed and it takes a magnifying glass to see the work done in Funchal. And the announcement of the smile lasts what it has to last, but then it ends. And at this moment Funchal needs to have a good team, to resume the development of the city.
Finally, a more personal question. Does your political future go through a place other than Madeira?
I don’t know, I’ll be 60 next month and I’m still in good shape. [risos]. But I do not know. It depends on the situation and if I request Madeira. If not, I would like to play a role in national politics or in Europe. I’m still in the middle of the quarter, let’s see, so far I’ve been doing well.
