Article on Textusa regarding GA's Candidacy for Presidency

Angelique wrote:Nova Gente, paper edition, Nº2019 (25 to 31/05/2015) pg 92

Top of page:
Gonçalo Amaral receives apologies from Manuela Ferreira Leite

Title:
"THEY TRIED TO DESTROY ME"

Subtitle:
In 2009, the ex-inpector of the "Maddie case" was chosen by PSD to be candidate to the Olhão Municipality
He was removed from the race by the McCann couple.


The story has more than six years, but remains well alive in the memory of Gonçalo Amaral, the ex-coordinator of the "Maddie case". After he retired, the PSD wanted to launch him in the political life, appointing him "as candidate to the presidency of the Municipality of Olhão", at the end of 2008. When all indicated him as the strongest candidate to victory, came the announcement of the contrary from Manuela Ferreira Leite. Gonçalo Amaral was received by the then orange [colour linked to PSD] leader who apologised to him about the decision.

"The McCannns allege that they minimised the book and only the showing of the documentary took them to react. It's not true. The book came out and was minimised by the couple, but before the dicumentary, in January 2009, it came out in the papers that I had been chosen by the PSD as the candidate to the presidency for the Olhão Municipality", says the ex-inspector, underlining: "What happened was that the couple tried always to destroy me, destroy my credibility, and were frightened with the possibility of me to stop being an outsider, a retiree from the police, and being able to be president of Olhão Municipality. They were frightened, they would have thought that a mayor would be a more credible figure than that of a police officer", states Amaral, describing his version of the events at that time. "The couple's reaction was quick. In a flash trip, Gerald McCann came to Lisbon, met with his lawyer, Dr Rogério Alves, with a PSD leader, who is said to be Dr José Luís Arnaut, and the couple’s current lawyer, Dr Isabel Duarte. They spoke about me, a Portuguese citizen with the right to elect or be elected in any democratic elections, and they even delivered a report about me, done by their private detectives, hired to look for their daughter. After the meeting, Dr Manuela Ferreita Leite announced that I was no longer candidate, overriding the will of the Olhão militants and that of the Agarvians’ “

In the sequence of this removal, Gonçalo Amaral asked to be received by Ferreira Leita. “She received me in the party headquarters, having only apologised, to me and my family”, revealed in an interview to Nova Gente, again defending that “the cupel didn’t suffer any kind of damages, only were frightened with the course of life was taking, because they wanted to discredit me”.


Caption of photo 1:
PSD LEADER REJECTED CANDIDACY
Gonçalo Amaral believes that Manuela Ferreira Leite will have refuse his candidacy to the Olhão Municipality by influence of José Luís Arnaut, who, in turn, will have been meeting with Gerry McCann and his lawyers.

Caption photo 2:
DELIVERY OF APPEAL
The ex-inspector of the PJ is going to appeal the sentence that condemned him to pay 500 thousand euros to the McCann couple.