‘Government refers Relvas degree to prosecutors and forces him to resign’

Miguel Relvas, the minister for parliamentary affairs and a close adviser to Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho, has resigned amid allegations he received favourable treatment and obtained a political science degree from Lisbon’s Universidade Lusófona in only one year, in 2007.

Education Minister Nuno Crato said the case will be sent to court in the next 24 hours, and may end with the degree being invalidated. The Constitutional Court verdict on elements of the 2013 budget is also expected on the same day.

Público adds that “the departure of a minister of Relvas’s stature only accentuates the feeling of anxiety at this time. The failure of the budget estimates for 2013, [...] deficit targets that are impossible to achieve [...], a vote of no confidence and the uncertainty about the constitutionality of the budget, are all providing a lot of turbulence.”