In hot water over matters so much more important, the new ‘blot’ on former prime minister José Sócrates ‘good name’ is that his well-used prefix of “Eng.” (standing for engineer) is bogus.
So says the Order of Engineers, which insists Sócrates has never been inscribed in its esteemed body, and the fact that his biographical details on the parliamentary website suggests he has leaves them uncomfortable.
To say this after so many years in which Sócrates has been referred to as Eng. seems ridiculous – particularly after all the controversy over the degree he gained in Civil Engineering (from a university that no longer exists).
According to the Order, it has only been moved to clarify the situation, because so many people ‘keep asking’.
Sócrates himself has engineered the perfect response.
He never applied to have his name included within the Order, he says, as he has basically been so busy doing other things.
In 1987, he was elected prime minister, and since that time, he has not been exercising the profession of civil engineer. He uses the prefix, however, as it is an indication of his academic qualifications
The principal ‘arguido’ (official suspect) in an investigation centering on alleged multi-million corruption at the highest levels (click here), Sócrates insists that he has never claimed a title to which he is not entitled – suggesting the confusion has been engineered by those waging a campaign of slander against him.
Meantime, former television news anchor Manuela Moura Guedes – due to return to journalism after an eight-year absence which she claims was engineered by José Sócrates – has given the former PS leader a new title.
She told Bernardo Mendonça in interview for one of his series of podcasts “The Beauty of Small Things” that in her opinion José Sócrates is a psychopath.
Manuela Moura Guedes’ story is something of an eye-opener. She tells Mendonça that “much more serious than the story of corruption” that is Operation Marquês “is that Justice and the press were completely controlled during the Socratic period”.
For those who can understand Portuguese, the extraordinary podcast can be heard here: (click here).
