Madeira News Blog

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Elaine (West) … A rainbow at Paul da Serra

"The fireworks was indeed the  best I have ever seen. Most were launched from the waterfront, east from the harbour, but there was also a number of other sites (I counted to more than 10, but people say 40 sites). The rockets were synchronised, so the same type/colour came from many sites at the same time – amazing! 17 tons of fireworks are rumoured to have been used… Many boats went out to see it from the water, but that looked dangerous (dark, many boats, acohol, attention on fireworks, etc.), so I stayed in the harbour". PRIVATE BLOG WITH PHOTOS

São Martinho Church – Funchal by Sonia von Walter.

"FUNCHAL – Real Madrid and Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo has bought his native island of Madeira and indicated that he plans to turn it into a theme park focusing on his career. Ronaldo, 24, already owns the world’s largest collection of mirrors". From the Los Angeles Times From Lisbon to L.A., some stories we’d like to read in 2010

"Three people from the Madeira archipelago have returned home for Christmas holiday after working in the Central African country of Equatorial Guinea are hospitalized due to infections of falciparum malaria. One of the workers is in intensive care while the other two are in the hospital but stabile. The Madeira archipelago is one of the autonomous regions of Portugal in the mid-Atlantic Ocean. It does have a sub tropical humid climate which is conducive to many emerging diseases found in the tropics. But according to experts, the weather in December is too cold for local transmission". MORE FROM THE NATIONAL EXAMINER

Nacional fought a brave fight away at Benfica in the Carlsberg Cup last night, losing only in the last few minutes by a single goal.

Many thanks to Elaine once again for yesterday’s top news stories :

Bad weather returns and causes more damage. Madeira is on orange alert, the second highest on a scale of four. This is due to heavy rain and strong winds forecasted with gusts up to 110 km/hour in the mountains. Sea condition forecasts are for 4 metre waves and 55 km/hour winds. The conditions are expected to remain until tomorrow. The Porto Santo ferry managed the link yesterday but docking at Porto Santo was hampered by strong waves. The ferry also sailed today but there are uncertainties about tomorrow’s journey. A landslide in Ponta do Sol yesterday threw more than a ton of rocks and earth into the stream. It occurred near the Giga Park when people were about to attend the circus at 15.30, causing more alarm than damage. The leader of the PS in São Vicente is concerned that the stones carried down by rain to Ribeira Grande are being moved to land fill sites above Ginjas. Gouveia questions the safety of this operation in case they are washed down from this new site. He has already alerted São Vicente Council to the matter and will inform the Public Prosecutor. The PS Francisco Dias of Porto Moniz Council accuses the PSD of halting and preventing the local authority from planning a Risk Charter for the county (disapproved in the last Council meeting in December). This would mean a revision of the Municipal Plan and would help defend the coastline, streams, industrial parks, forests and population. This afternoon, a wall collapsed onto a section of the expressway in Madalena do Mar and the police closed the road as it is partly blocked and the remaining wall unstable. The damage will be assessed tomorrow morning.

Cantares de Reis in Ponta do Sol on January 5. The Grupo de Folclore da Ponta do Sol are marking the Dia de Reis with a show in the village centre (next to the auditorium of the Centro Cultural John dos Passos) from 21.30. This initiative started seven years ago due to the wealth and diversity of regional cantares de reis (songs of the kings). There are many different groups participating. This tradition is still alive in Ponta do Sol and throughout Madeira and in recent years, there have been more groups formed. They visit, from the 5 – 6 January, homes of friends, relatives and neighbours and travel to different sites. The festivities usually continue until Santo Amaro. Visitors are rewarded by the householders with food and drink typical of the festive season (liqueurs, homemade bread with meat in wine and garlic, various sweets, bolo de noiva, torresmos and sometimes soup).

Cantar os Reis in Funchal. In the auditorium of Funchal Municipal Garden on Tuesday 5 January at 21.30. The event is organized by the Cultural Association Encontros da Eira and is part of the tourist calendar for Christmas and New Year festivities. Various groups will be performing songs and plays with religious themes, reviving the traditions of cantares de reis from various parts of the region. Inherent to the show, there will be distribution of specialities of this season to the public and entertainment on the streets by the group Gaitulia. Local men bring regional instruments and women regional food. That afternoon the group Encontros da Eira will perform at the Congress Centre (Casino) in a show which is the responsibility of the orchestra (OCM).

Valter will not give money to the Parish Councils. The ex-president of the Parish Council of Seixal, who is now the Mayor of the County Council of Porto Moniz, will not transfer any funds to the four Parish Councils; Seixal, Ribeira da Janela, Porto Moniz and Acadas da Cruz. This is the same situation as during the past eight years when the previous mayor was Gabriel de Farinha. Two Parish Councils are PSD controlled (Seixal and Ribeira da Janela) and the other two are Socialist. The two Socialist Parish Council presidents are more critical of the Mayor of Porto Moniz (PSD) than their counterparts in PSD run Councils. Valter Correia explains that he would like to transfer funds to the parishes but the budget is tight and instead, they will be given materialistic help. In São Vicente, the budget is also tight but Jorge Romeira (PSD) has a different attitude and gives 204,000 euros to the three Parish Councils. São Vicente and Ponta Delgada receive 65,000 euros and Boaventura over 74,000 euros. He said the Councils require the money for their valuable work for the residents, "Clearing footpaths and improvements cost money." In Calheta, the CDS Manuel Baeta wants to know why there are a million euros of the Council budget allocated for ‘Other’. He thinks this is not transparent and it is more than the total budget of the eight Parish Councils in Calheta.

Cavaco receives more criticism than praise. The New Year’s message from Cavaco Silva, the President of Portugal, did not please the majority of political parties in Madeira. The exception was the PP leader José Rodrigues. The PSD thought it was a message of a country without hope. Miguel de Sousa stated, "My generation has lived since 1974 hearing this speech that we must sacrifice, we need to unify, we need judgement. It is always repetitive."  He said Portugal needs a new system as the current one is not working and that change is the responsibility of all: President, Prime Minister, members of the opposition parties and other political players. The PS agree that the country needs those who will propose a new system and the message shows conflict between the President and the Government. Rodrigues of the PP said that Cavaco supported the Government as he said in his speech that the PS and the Government have all the conditions to govern. Cavaco said in his speech that the country’s foreign debt and the imbalance of public accounts are enhancers of an ‘explosive’ situation in Portugal. He stated that the political parties must maintain political stability in the country.

Madeira Island Tourism increases its investment in a promotion on the Continent. In Lisbon, there will be an Industrial Fair from the 13 – 19 January. The regional authorities who are promoting tourism to Madeira will use the themes activities and sports to engage the interest of tourists from Portugal. In recent months, there has been a remarkable growth in the number of Portuguese staying at hotels on the island, partly due to the increase in availability of air transport and campaigns launched by the Regional Tourism department. They ran direct advertising campaigns through the Internet and indirectly through sponsorship of regional events and TV productions on national television. In the first 10 months of last year, the hotels recorded 809,165 overnight stays, which exceeded the total for 2008.  The final total should be a record number for the Portuguese market in the last decade. There will be an area to promote Porto Santo and one for the Wine, Embroidery and Crafts Institute. During the days open only to professionals, Madeiran barmen will demonstrate the making of cocktails. The Regional Director of Tourism will be there on the first two days and at a dinner held in central Lisbon for those working for national airlines, tourist agents and tour operators.

Hundreds followed the Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fátima to the Church of Carmo this afternoon. After a well attended Mass, the statue was taken from the College Church to the Church of Carmo in Funchal. There was also good attendance at the Peace March which started at this church and ended at the Se Cathedral at 18.30. The Pilgrim Statue remains at the Church of Carmo until next Sunday. The Bishop of Funchal would not comment on the controversial statements by the President for European Anti-Poverty about the transfer of Canon Manuel Martins to Machico Parish.

Today’s news headlines from the front page of the Diário de Notícias :

MP : Court of Santa Cruz is in chaos. This is an interview with the man whose job title translates roughly as something like ‘state prosecutor coordinator of the Public Prosecutor’s office (MP) on Madeira’. Just picking out a couple of points he made : "There is a big gap between what those elites in power think, and the feelings of the people". On Santa Cruz court : it is an example of how a court should not function, reaching an almost chaotic situation – with the delays of a accumulation of cases, and the inability to respond. The backlog will take years to clear.

Claim of Naviera Armas against the ports – The ferry operator respects the new unloading rules, but the action against APRAM [Port Authority] goes forward on the 18th.

Only 54 created their own employment. The restaurant trade was the favoured area for those who took the initiative, but all in all only 54 took advantage of support offered by the Regional Government, and it is clear that Madeira lacks more entrepreneurs. There are several ‘packages’ to encourage people into self-employment, but being your own boss it seems doesn’t appeal to many, and in particular the 13,500 unemployed. The 54 who have gone down that road have so far created just 66 jobs, with proposals for another 80.

Today’s main news headline : PSD Social Democrats clear out committees where it lost in the elections – The ‘orange’ political committees of São Jorge, Gaula, Achada da Cruz,  Água da Pena, and Porto Moniz, where the defeats occurred in the local elections last October, are on the way out. Soon there will be elections. And the reshaping will not end there. Party elections will be held to appoint new political committees in these 5 non-PSD parishes, but the clear-out might well be extended to other councils. The new elections will see new names, but existing names will be able to stand again [yeah right!]. Drastic, but not a great surprise. Of course it is already well known that president Jardim is punishing those parish councils where the voters didn’t elect his Social Democrats, by pulling out projects. Great tactics from our leader, as by pulling the key projects and strangling the finances, those voters who strayed from the ‘Uncle Bertie way’, will feel let down and disappointed by their current non-PSD parish council, so what will they do next time … return to the Bertie fold [maybe?]. Maybe it’s time for a new year revolution resolution.

Hundreds follow the pilgrim image to the church of Carmo – The Bishop of Funchal asked the youngsters to guide themselves by the principles of peace.  Yesterday afternoon the Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fátima was moved from the Igreja do Colégio to the Igreja do Carmo, where it will stay until Sunday, accompanied by hundreds of faithful followers. A peace march also took place with dozens of youngsters walking the streets of downtown Funchal, that finished at Sé Cathedral in Funchal.

Today’s sport / football headlines : Treacherous defeat in the Estádio da Luz [Stadium of Light, Benfica's ground] – National lost the first group game of the League Cup, but can complain about the refereeing (Rodrigo goal wrongly ruled out) and about themselves also. Benfica 1 Nacional 0.

In Division II, União widen the leadership. União 1 Amadora 0, in the second division south league.

Ribeira Brava lead Série Madeira [Madeira football league]. Ribeira Brava actually scored two goals in the 0 – 2 away win at Canicense, and that’s a rarity.

Sue very kindly provided these stories … many thanks.

Parish of Mount Carmo – Bishop says "a profound cultural renewal" is needed.

Not the same numbers that gathered in the square of the College on the day the pilgrim image of Our Lady of Fatima came to Madeira, thousands of people attended did yesterday’s mass in the Church College and followed the procession to the parish of Mount Carmo. The bishop of the Diocese of Funchal addressed a few words to the young people at the church who followed later in March for Peace through Rua Fernão de Ornelas, heading for the Sé.

D. António Carrilho recalled the Pope’s message for this year, stressing that "we are called to pray for peace" and "be builders of peace" as "to build peace is to say yes and say no." It’s "say no to selfishness, lying, hatred, revenge, war and all forms of violence, injustice, envy, jealousy, lack of respect for life and the rights of others and disregard of nature "and" say yes to truth and justice, liberty, responsibility, respect for the rights of the individual and respect for and protection of creation, the whole universe and our mother earth, our common home of all humanity".

The image of Our Lady of Fatima, who has been on a pilgrimage in Madeira since October 13, remains in the parish of Mount Carmo until the end of the week. She then goes to the Belfry, where she began her visit to Câmara de Lobos.

NEWS IN BRIEF

Wallet lost at Avenue Sea. A wallet with documents was lost yesterday afternoon on Avenue of the Sé, next to the restaurant ‘McDonald’s’. The owner is a mainland tourist who asks those who find the object to contact the PSP or contact the owner on phone 962 337 080. The lady promises to reward for the retrieval the wallet and documents.

Falling trees in the Nun’s Valley. Bad weather on Saturday afternoon caused the fall of several trees on the road to the Nun’s Valley. With the use of technical assistance from a landscaping company that use a chain saw to cut two pine trees involved was completed before the arrival of the Fire Volunteers Câmara de Lobos.

Madeira remains on alert ‘Orange’. Despite the improvements that were last recorded, the Institute of Meteorology continues to put Madeira on ‘Orange’ alert, but this time mainly due to the condition of the sea. Wave levels of five and six meters together with the wind are expected also in mountain areas where they can reach speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour, are the situations to be taken into account.

If anyone else can oblige with the translation of any of the ‘blank’ or sparsely filled headlines, or other news stories, here is the link. All contributions much appreciated. 

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If you can, please contribute something Madeira related. A funny story or good or bad experience, a news item, or a story from a Madeira newspaper, a photo or video, a teaser, news of a bargain flight or item in a supermarket. Please help keep this blog going … without user contributions it won’t survive. Please don’t send in automatic translations (like Google translator) without checking them through and correcting them first, thanks.

You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions and photos / videos.

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Please use the comments here for general chit-chat, or feel free to ask any questions … someone usually has an answer.

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Today’s Photo : Thanks to Eiryl … a lava cave at São Vicente

Funchal : The island of canals and volcanoes

"Funchal is a nice little island that is a sovereign state under the Portuguese flag. It’s a very mountainous city with steep hills and hardly any shore line, all of the highways are built along cliffs and have bridges to connect them". AMERICAN CRUISE VISITOR’S BLOG

"Okay some stories about Madeira … Have we got a lot to talk about; There is the running the car out of fuel at the top of the volcano …" WILL & TAM’S BLOG

Once you get past the title, this article is actually pretty good : Visit Madeira for Canals and Vineyards

"Away from the coast and the lush world of the levadas, walking in Madeira will take you high into the mountains. The island is volcanic in origin, and the worn and weathered remains of huge calderas are everywhere. The walk between the two highest peaks of Pico Ruivo and Pico Arieiro is one of the greatest walks on earth, and not particularly challenging. Try to do it on a day when the peaks are above the clouds and you will think you are not walking in Madeira, but walking in heaven". A RAMBLERS BLOG

Elaine very kindly provided yesterday’s top stories again …

Continuing on from Der’s headlines yesterday.

Bad weather at sea diverts 4,000 tourists and looses Madeira 250,000 Euros. The Independence of the Seas en route between Southampton and Funchal had to cancel the visit which led to a loss of revenue for companies in Madeira. The vessel had to sail at a lower speed than usual to ensure a more peaceful journey for the 4,000 tourists on board. This led to a delay in the arrival time in port, the captain opted to cancel the visit and head directly to Tenerife, which was the next port of call after Funchal. Passengers normally embarking at Funchal had to fly to Tenerife. This cancellation, with less than 24 hours warning, has lost Madeira more than 250,000 Euros to companies providing services in the areas of tourism and restaurants. Smaller ships were still scheduled to arrive, the Astor with 550 tourists and the Sea Cloud II with 80 tourists. The AIDAluna arrived with 2,250 German tourists on board, as usual on a Sunday. Due to strong wind and waves, the docking took longer than normal and the boat moored at the South quay instead of the North quay. The Lobo Marinho remained at Funchal on Sunday morning unable to sail for Porto Santo but was able to leave in the afternoon. Two SATA aircraft from Dublin and Las Palmas to Funchal were diverted to Porto Santo at 17.00 due to wind, rain and fog.

Municipality of Funchal benefits from private management of car parking. Diário investigative reporters analyzed the statistics from different cities in Portugal, the Azores and the Canaries. According to the contract, Funchal Council take 48% of the total gross monthly revenue from car parking meters and the management company SEP transferred 635.121 Euros to the municipality in 2008. The Diário concluded that the business is worth a little over €1.3 million and SEP earns 688,000 Euros, the remainder going to the council. SEP invested €3 million and operating costs are more than 6,000 Euros a month, whereas the council has no outlay, just income. The vice-president of Funchal Council said, "We do not have a business vision (overview) of parking because revenue is not important. Our strategy reflects a concept of sustainable urban mobility, in that it is important to contribute to the planning of transit, in a logical environment." The council justify the high prices on the mobility policy aimed at encouraging the use of public transport and a high turnover of parking in the centre. A Funchal resident parking card which is for a place near the home is also expensive at €103,64 per year per car compared to 10 Euros per year in Porto or Setubal. This generates an annual revenue of 67.265 Euros. The car parks generate a guaranteed revenue of 340.563 Euros a year for the council with no investment which was €9.1 million paid by SEP.

Hospitalized after being hit by a go-kart. A woman was hospitalized in the Orthopaedic Department at Funchal Central Hospital after being run over by a go-kart at the track in Porto Santo. She was getting out of the go-kart when the accident happened.

Wine producers in São Vicente form an association. They feel unprotected and accuse the government of only remembering to support them when there are elections. The mission of the new association is to solve the problems that the government cannot; minimize the cost of the labour force, lower the cost of fertilizers, negotiate the alcohol content and protect the price of grapes. The main objective of the initiative is to "improve conditions for wine producers because of the difficulties they have experienced this year." The 20 growers at the launch of the association produce about 300 tons of grapes and they aim for 100 members, as well as trade contracts with wine merchants so they can get discounts and guaranteed marketing.

Seven Wonders of Nature 2011. In Portugal, the government has committed 7 million Euros and next year has to choose their candidates. These will come from the initial competition 7 Wonders of Portugal. On 7 March 2010, selected from 77 candidates, the 21 finalists will be known which will be at least one from each of the seven regions of Portugal. The public can then vote until the 7 September 2010. The categories are; Caves and Caverns, Forests and Woods, Great Reliefs, Marine Zones, Beaches and Cliffs, Aquatic Zones (non-marine) and Protected Areas. Details of the candidates are at 7 WONDERS.

Businessman claims to have been assaulted by the President of Nacional. Businessman António Araujo says he was assaulted by Rui Alves, the President of Nacional Sports Club. The alleged assault occurred in the early hours of yesterday at the Copacabana nightclub, an act which the victim calls "cowardly". He said he was enjoying a peaceful non-alcoholic night when Rui Alves suddenly approached him and slapped him. The police were called but as hospital treatment was not required, they would not prosecute and is a civil matter.

PSD has still not internally reflected. On the night of the last local elections on the 11 October, Alberto Jardim said that PSD would start quickly an internal reflection on the choices in the coming years. After a month, nothing has happened. The leaving of Jardim, scheduled for 2011, remains the big question among the Social Democrats. This party that won all the elections since 1976 has always had Jardim in charge. Jardim does not comment on continuity in the leadership of the PSD. Last week, the parliamentary leader of the PSD ensured that an ordinary constitutional review will only happen in 2011, after the presidential elections. Many said Jardim intended to leave the ‘housekeeping’ to his successor, which will not be possible with an uncertain constitutional framework. The leadership race continues with more questions than answers.

Porto Moniz has fewer young people staying. Porto Moniz is becoming another area where the young are leaving due to lack of employment and the remaining population is ageing. Interviews with the locals who complain of a lack of investment in the area and not enough help for the elderly in their own homes.

Plea to the Madeiran immigrants settled in Venezuela to support the island. A Funchal councillor at the opening of an exhibition in Caracas stated that the economy of Madeira is being affected by the international crisis and is not at its best. Currently there are no major public investments and the biggest investment now is to invest in the profitability of the large infrastructure which has been made over the years and that will need a lot of private investment, which he wants the Venezuelan population to contribute to.

— Off Rio de Janeiro, divers have just found the remains of a Portuguese ship which sank in 1722 and was carrying a cargo of 136 precious pieces of porcelain from China to London. The cargo is estimated to be worth 670 million Euros and it will cost more than 1.166 million Euros to bring the ship to the surface. British and Norwegian companies are already interested. (A lot in the press this week about the visit of the Bishop of East Timor here. I do not know how far East the Madeirans travelled.)

From today’s front page of the Diário de Notícias :

State turns educational centre operational – Minister of Finances foresees spending €3.35 million on the educational centre until 2012.

Today’s main front page news story : There are €21 million to brake the rural exodus – Applications for the money given by the EU are open until 4th December. ADRAMA is waiting for projects to combat desertification. The EU has decided to pump in €21 million until 2013 to help keep our rural communities populated, with the Association for Rural Development managing the distribution of the funding. A large investment is undoubtedly needed, but a paltry €21 million isn’t going to help much, unless the plan is to build fenced compounds to confine the locals. Anyway, hasn’t the proverbial horse already bolted? Shouldn’t this master plan have been introduced a little earlier in the recession? By 2013 it will be all over, and practically the whole population of Madeira will either live in Funchal or have emigrated, leaving Uncle Bertie an easy task in concreting over the rest of the island.

‘Educate for Tourism’ is another initiative to protect the future that ADERAM takes to five schools.

In politics : "I would be prepared to be leader of the Socialist Party of Madeira". An interview with Maximiano Martins (pictured), who spent 8 years in the national parliament before getting the boot. He says he was / would be interested in leading the PS-M, but his pals wouldn’t support him.

Diário Photo caption : It was not easy to manoeuvre in the harbour, but the ‘Lobo Marinho’ guaranteed return of 700 passengers. The mind boggles!

18 request retirement in a Radio and Television [company] in rupture – The dissatisfaction is growing in RTP Madeira. The administration comes this week to the region to select a new director. 12% of the company staff do not want to continue working for the company, and with a dissatisfied workforce, poor working conditions, and obsolete and inadequate equipment, the operation of RTP-M is under threat. So, it’s as much of a shambles on the inside as it shows itself to be on the outside, to it’s audience. I have said before it’s scheduling and fulfilling of it’s schedule is pretty poor, and nobody has a clue what’s on and when. I like to watch the Madeira news nearly every day,  but you turn on at the allotted hour, and it just isn’t there.

Secretary reprimands presidents – SREC distances itself from the fights between Carlos Pereira and Rui Alves. That’s not to mention the fight that Elaine mentions above. The presidents of our two football clubs, Nacional and Marítimo have been been in a spat since they were in nappies, but the stakes seem to rise year after year. In this story the Regional Secretary for Education and Culture, responsible for sport, gave the two naughty boys a ‘raspanete’, which while I have no idea what it actually means, I reckon it must be one of those things you blow at people in disdain. Unfortunately there is no photo, or even better a soundtrack, to prove my theory.

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If you can, please contribute something Madeira related. A funny story or good or bad experience, a news item, or a story from a Madeira newspaper, a photo or video, a teaser, news of a bargain flight or item in a supermarket. Please help keep this blog going … without user contributions it won’t survive. 

You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions and photos / videos.

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

Please use the comments here for general chit-chat, or feel free to ask any questions … someone usually has an answer.

(more…)

(29th September). The last of today’s headlines : ‘Half [of the ?] Regional Commission Asks Congress – The petition was delivered last week. But the leader Gouveia himself had the idea’. The PS-M socialist leader João Carlos Gouveia has pre-empted critics about the poor showing on Madeira in the elections, and 28 members of the Regional Commission of the Socialist Party last week signed a document asking the chairman of this body to urgently schedule a Congress meeting, with elections to choose new party leader. The initiative was not disclosed, as it was not considered appropriate, being in full campaign for the elections. Various other candidates are discussed. Well, the last two election results already proved what a shambles the PS-M are, and with 2 out of 3 seats lost in the Assembly in Portugal on Sunday, is the hope now that this news will improve matters for the local elections on 11th October? Is the logic there that people are more likely to vote for a PS with a unknown future leader than a poor current leader?

‘Madeira will submit the proposed amendment to the Law of Regional Finance – Jardim counts on the new composition of the parliament and coherence of the parties for the adoption of the revision’. President Jardim announced yesterday that the amendments, proposed by the PSD-M social democrats will be submitted to the Assembly of the Republic. Jardim says that the current law has choked Madeira’s state funding. He was of course hoping that his own PSD party would be be in government, as he had already reached agreement on what would happen, but he will now have to bank on a reduced majority government being out-voted.

The local election campaigns officially restarted today. The PSD-M noise car has already passed my house at least 4 times today.

‘Albuquerque Beats Jardim – Albuquerque has an advantage of nearly 4,000 votes compared to the leader of the PSD-M’. Within 15 days the social democrats will get to know who is worth more in Funchal, the PSD-M president of the câmara or the PSD-M president of Madeira. The two will not be competing head to head, but the comparison of results between legislative (national) and local elections is compulsory, and the same has happened in previous regional elections. Miguel Albuquerque’s support for re-election to Funchal council will have more meaning than ever before, as he is the pretender to the throne of Alberto João Jardim, who is rumoured to be bowing out in 2011. In Sunday’s election Jardim achieved 25,511 votes in Funchal, as top-of-the-list for a seat in the Assembly of the Republic of Portugal, or 43.7% of the vote, a fairly low achievement, whereas four years ago, Albuquerque managed 29,395, or 50.3% of the Funchal vote. What a useless comparison, with people not only voting for different people, but for different things. What would be more useful and entertaining is to give them both a pistol, and have a crack of dawn winner-takes-all duel, on top of a grassy knoll (a contingency plan, just in case they both miss). Not wishing to be politically incorrect (before the blog snipers come along), it would of course all be in fun using paint ball pistols.

The high level of abstention in Funchal is a bit of a concern in Funchal. One of the reasons is explained in today’s Diário : "As reported, Portugal has a huge number of voters who are unable to vote. Because they are dead, or because they live in a foreign country". The latter case gives us some cause for forgiveness, as ballot papers get lost and delayed when sent abroad, as happened in Venezuela at the weekend, but as for the dead voters, do they really have excuses, if so I would like to hear them. And there was me thinking, that in this terminal stage of life, one automatically qualified for an important position in the PSD-M, so does that in fact mean that our current rulers do still have some blood movement in their veins, or is that just afterlife twitching we see?

‘In the series ‘Through Madeira’ : ‘Porto Moniz : ‘People’s tribunals’ still decide’. Residents discuss life in the towns two cafes. They analyse and pass ‘sentences’. The Portuguese Justice System doesn’t know, but in the region of Porto Moniz, two courts exist (‘Relação’ & ‘Supremo’), curiously both quite near the town hall. It is in these two places that the common life and politics of the town are discussed, and ‘sentences’ given out. They article says that if the president of the câmara kept his office window open he would be able to hear what was being said from his desk. The  power of the ‘Supremo’ is sufficient to change the political scene in the area, and the Diário hints that if the outgoing câmara president might have listened more closely, he would still be around to serve another political mandate next month (another Jardim ‘casualty’). The two courts fall into the categories of regular and supreme, and there is a protocol between the two. Rui Nelson, is one of the youngest ‘judges’ of the ‘Relação : "When we do not agree on a certain subject, we take the matter to the Supremo", he said. The Diário, having hyped up the story, then takes it back to reality, a powerless discussion forum … but is it?