Trump Administration is example of “what not to do”, says Mário Centeno
While government projections may point towards economic growth, the governor of the Bank of Portugal has insisted that “political stability” will play a vital role in the country’s economic success.
Speaking days after Portugal’s legislative elections, Mário Centeno avoided commenting directly on the outcome but defended the importance of adopting economic policies that ensure “stability and predictability”.
Giving the example of the “uncertainty” coming out of the USA, he said: “What we have seen from the other side of the Atlantic is a guide on how not to carry out economic policies. There is nothing worse (…) than political contexts in which decisions are made one day and reverted the next.”
He added that “political stability is a precious asset nowadays,” highlighting Portugal as an example of financial stability and insisted that the country must avoid a repetition of the troika years – a period between 2011 and 2014 in which the trio of the European Commision (EC), European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) oversaw a bailout program in Portugal.
The bailout came with strict conditions, including austerity measures (cuts to public spending and tax increases), labour market and pension reforms, and privatisation of state assets.
