Portugal’s interior minister resigned today, almost five months after his driver was involved in a car accident in which a road construction worker was killed while a government official was sitting in the back seat of a ministerial vehicle.
Eduardo Cabrita has been under pressure to resign since the fatal accident.
He has repeatedly refused to do so, but today public prosecutors formally charged his driver with manslaughter, saying he was driving over the speed limit, “at about 163 kilometers per hour”, according to Portuguese media, when fell on the 43-year-old worker, father of two children.
Following the accident, the management of this case was severely criticized. The minister was accused of denying his responsibilities but also of lack of sensitivity towards the victim’s family. The day after the accident, the Interior Ministry tried to justify itself, explaining that there was no sign on the highway that would warn drivers about the cleaning work being done.
“More than anyone else, I feel sorry for this tragic, irreparable loss,” Cabrita said in a speech announcing his resignation. Earlier in the day, he told reporters he was “just a passenger” in the vehicle involved in the crash.
“I can not allow this case to be used politically to punish the work of the government (…)”.
The interior minister has resigned as Portugal prepares for early elections next month, announced by the country’s president after the government failed to get the “green light” of parliament on the budget.
Cabrita took over as interior minister in 2017, shortly after the devastating wildfires that struck Portugal, killing more than 100 people.
During his tenure at the Interior Ministry, which includes the fire service, police and border services, he was confronted with a series of scandals, including that of a Ukrainian man who was beaten to death by police while detained at the airport. of Lisbon.
“I took on this role in a particularly difficult context for the country, in a state of national trauma,” he said today. “Since then, I have worked hard to ensure that Portugal is a safe country.”
Shortly after Cabrita’s resignation, Prime Minister Costa told reporters that he accepted his resignation and had contacted the country’s president. He also thanked Cabrita for his work.
SOURCE: AMPE
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Source From: Capital
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