Portuguese Socialist leader denounces slander campaign against him

RDP Antena 1 radio, Lisbon

[Presenter] Socialist Party Leader Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues today [Sunday 25 May] said he is the target of a smear campaign. The leader of the opposition wants to know why his name came up in connection with the ongoing investigation into an alleged paedophilia ring at Casa Pia [Lisbon state-funded boys' home] and demands the whole truth. Therefore, he wants to be listened to:

[Ferro Rodrigues] I hereby affirm before you, with absolute clarity, that I demand more than just a simple acknowledgment that I am not a suspect of crimes. As a citizen, but also as the chief person in charge of a party as important as the PS [Socialist Party], I have the right, and the duty, to ascertain the whole truth: the reasons why my name came up in connection with this investigation and the motives that prompted those responsible for this. I would also like to solemnly affirm before you that I will be requesting an audience with the attorney-general [Jose Souto de Moura] in order to be listened to and to establish, once and for all, that on no account can I be associated with any type of reproachful behaviour, in relation to this or to any other case. Only the truth matters to us. But for this we must also ascertain who is trying to disgrace us and why.