Lisbon’s Left Bloc council leader resigned on Sunday after revelations broke that he was involved in property speculation in the Alfama area of city while politically supporting an expansion of affordable housing.
Ricardo Robles tried to weather the storm that he whipped up by his buying a prime, city centre property for nearly €350,000, spending an estimated million euros on refurbishing it and putting it on the market for a cool €5 million.
By pitching the sales blurb at the sort of short-term rental investor he officially stands against, Robles’ position was untenable, not least because the Left Bloc has been calling for limits to be established to halt the spread of Alojamento Local short-term rental properties - especially in Lisbon.
The head of the Left Bloc party, Catarina Martins, at first tried to help him out but the heat rose over the weekend and Robles resigned, to the relief of the Left Bloc whose members can well do without the sort of millionaire left-winger that gives the party a bad name.
In a statement released by the Left Bloc, Robles says he informed party leader Catarina Martins of his decision on Sunday and admits that the "private option" to buy and sell a building in Lisbon's historic district - with an potential profit of up to €4 million and with apartments destined for AL accommodation - "revealed a real political problem" and "created a huge constraint" to his "work as a councillor."
Last Friday, when the story broke, Robles held a press conference at the headquarters of the Left Bloc to explain the situation but he refused to resign, "There is nothing deplorable in my conduct," said the then Lisbon Council member.
Despite the Left Bloc's top brass wanting Robles to stay on, even giving him a vote of confidence, he quit after the weekend's news reports highlighted Robles' error of favouring high-class property development over a left-wing political future.
