Ireneu Barreto said that the PSD/Madeira leader will be appointed on Wednesday, at 12:00, at the São Lourenço Palace, the official residence of the representative of the Republic, in Funchal, explaining that the choice is due to the fact that he considers that "the solution presented by the most voted party, the PSD, which has a parliamentary incidence agreement with the CDS, and the non-hostility, in principle, of Chega, PAN and IL will have all the conditions to see its program approved in the Legislative Assembly".

Regarding the joint solution of PS and JPP, the representative of the Republic indicated that "it has no chance of succeeding in the Legislative Assembly".

"I assume my responsibilities, I will do everything so that this Government works, I hope that the others, who have responsibilities at the level of the parliamentary assembly [...] know how to honor the best interests of the region", said Ireneu Barreto, in statements to journalists after having received the parties elected on Sunday.

Regarding the fact that Miguel Albuquerque is a defendant in a process that investigates suspicions of corruption in the region, the judge stressed that the presumption of innocence "is an absolute value", so the situation in which the outgoing president of the Regional Government is "is not a problem" for him.

"What I want to tell the people of Madeira and Porto Santo is that we are going to have a Government with great chances of overcoming the difficulties that lie ahead. A Government that will have a Government Program, which will have an approved budget", he reinforced.

Ireneu Barreto also mentioned that he expects Miguel Albuquerque to deliver to him on Wednesday, upon the appointment, "a written text signed" by the social democrat and by the leader of CDS-PP/Madeira, José Manuel Rodrigues.

On Monday, "in principle", Miguel Albuquerque will return to the São Lourenço Palace to deliver the proposal with the composition of the new executive.

The representative of the Republic also anticipated that the new regional executive could be sworn in next week.

Ireneu Barreto today received the seven parties with parliamentary representation, after Sunday's regional elections, in ascending order of votes: PAN (one deputy), IL (one), CDS-PP (two), Chega (four), JPP (nine), PS (11) and PSD (19).

In Sunday's elections, Miguel Albuquerque's PSD (president of the Madeiran executive since 2015) once again won the regional elections and elected 19 deputies, saying it was available to ensure a "government of stability", but the PS considered that there was room to build an alternative.

On Monday, the PS and the JPP announced "a joint government solution" in the archipelago, to be presented to the representative of the Republic in Madeira, appealing to the participation of the remaining parties, with the exception of the PSD and Chega, "in order to build more robust parliamentary support".

This morning, before being received by the representative of the Republic for Madeira, Miguel Albuquerque and José Manuel Rodrigues met at Quinta Vigia, in Funchal, having established an agreement for parliamentary support.

The early elections in Madeira took place eight months after the previous regional elections, after the President of the Republic dissolved the Madeiran parliament, following the political crisis triggered in January, when the leader of the Regional Government (PSD/CDS-PP), Miguel Albuquerque, was constituted an accused in a process in which suspicions of corruption are being investigated.

[News updated at 7:08 pm]

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