It is now widely understood that former finance minister, now Bank of Portugal governor, Mário Centeno’s bleak forecast for the economy in 2025 is ‘on its own’: every organisation/ think tank/ non-Socialist politician appears to believe otherwise – the latest being leader of Iniciativa Liberal Rui Rocha, who has come out and said what many may be thinking: Mr Centeno is following an agenda. “None of the statements he makes can be read outside of a political context, which is his intention to run for the Presidency of the Republic”, said Rocha in Lisbon today. Yesterday, on his weekly newstime slot, commentator (and himself a potential candidate for the presidency) Luís Marques Mendes said he found Mr Centeno’s warnings about a return to a 0.1% deficit next year, “very strange”.
Everyone appears to be trashing Bank of Portugal warning about a return to deficit
Mário Centeno, governor of the Bank of Portugal., former Socialist finance minister and soon, potentially, a candidate for the presidency of the Republic. Image: Mário Cruz/ Lusa
