“Fortunately, our economy is one of the best in Europe (in terms of growth)”
Portugal’s outgoing prime minister said on Wednesday that “there is no reason to be alarmed” about the country’s financial and economic situation, despite the scenario of an early election, assuring that “there will be no disruption to the functioning of the government”.
Luís Montenegro was speaking outside an audience with President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa at the Belém Palace, where the latter is receiving all parties with parliamentary seats today, following the rejection of a motion of confidence in parliament on Tuesday evening which led to the fall of the minority coalition PSD/CDS-PP government.
At the end of an audience of around an hour with the head of state, prime minister Luís Montenegro reassured the nation, saying he understood “the apprehension over a new legislative election” (70% of Portuguese do not want a snap election).
“The country is in a situation of consolidation of its economic and financial path; fortunately, our economy is one of the best in Europe (in terms of growth), our public finances are balanced and also one of the best in Europe, we have a particularly high level of employment and a particularly low level of unemployment,” he said.
Montenegro reiterated that an early election was not a desirable scenario, but that “there will be no disruption in the functioning of the government, the public administration or the economy in this period”.
“Firstly, because the State Budget has been implemented, and secondly because the government in charge is able to take the most urgent and pressing decisions,” he said, reassuring that the implementation of investment projects, namely those involving the Recovery and Resilience Plan, “is not in question”.
Thus, he continued, “there is no reason for alarm, there is no reason why democratic instruments can’t work in a way that doesn’t penalise people’s lives”.
“Portugal will also continue, externally, to engage in bilateral dialogue with its partners, both in the European Union and outside the European Union, as well as in multilateral institutions,” he declared.
The outgoing prime minister assured that he will also continue political dialogue with the opposition parties on matters that are “justified, in a completely normal way”.
“There is every reason for the Portuguese people to be able to calmly analyse and judge what the government’s actions have been this year, what the government’s alternative projects are, and to resolve this impasse with a sovereign decision, by those who have the ultimate power to define the country’s future, which are the Portuguese people,” he said.
President Marcelo will hear all parties with seats in parliament throughout the day and has called a meeting of the Council of State for tomorrow (Thursday) at 3pm under Article 145(a) of the Constitution, according to which it is up to this body to pronounce on the dissolution of parliament.
Article 133 of the Constitution also states that it is up to the country’s president to dissolve parliament “after hearing the parties represented in it and the Council of State”.
The motion of confidence in the PSD/CDS-PP government failed in parliament on Tuesday with the PS, Chega, BE, PCP, Livre and PAN’s sole MP, Inês Sousa Real, voting against. In favour were the PSD, CDS-PP and Iniciativa Liberal.
The next legislative election is now expected to take place in May.
Source: Lusa
