LISBON, Portugal (AFP) – Portugal’s interior minister resigned Friday after a series of gaffes and mistakes that could have made him a political burden on his left-wing Socialist party ahead of elections to form a new government on Jan. 30.

Eduardo Cabreta, whose department oversees internal security, including the police, immigration service and firefighters, said he is stepping down because opposition parties are “politically exploiting” his recent difficulties over a fatal car crash in his official car.

The government vehicle the Cabreta was traveling in crashed and killed a worker on the highway last summer. A Cabreta driver is charged with negligent homicide amid allegations the car was traveling at 166 km/h (103 mph) – over the 120 km/h (74.5 mph) speed limit.

Earlier on Friday, Kabrita sparked a protest by denying any responsibility for the accident, telling reporters “I was just a passenger.”

Cabrita has been part of the socialist government since 2015, but has been faced with scandals that several times seemed to lead to his resignation.

In 2017, his department provided the nation’s firefighters with protective gear that turned out to be flammable.

Last year, a Ukrainian man was beaten to death by immigration service officers at Lisbon Airport while in custody.

Recently, Kabrita has been criticized for the restructuring of the Immigration Service, which is being absorbed into the police.

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