Compiling data on five economic indicators – inflation, the diversion of inflation, GDP, employment and unemployment – the magazine describes Portugal’s results as “as sweet as a pastel de nata”.
‘In 2025, (Portugal) managed to combine strong GDP growth, low inflation and a booming stock market,’ says the text. And with surprising speed, prime minister Luís Montenegro took to social networks to say: “It is with hope and confidence that we see Portugal receiving exceptional international recognition. The distinction awarded by The Economist magazine, naming Portugal’s economy as the ‘economy of the year’, is a fitting tribute to the merit and hard work of the Portuguese people and reinforces the Government’s motivation to continue on the path that has brought us this far in recent months”.
There was more – but this is the place to ‘stop’ and unpack a little: Mr Montenegro’s reference to ‘continuing the path that has brought us this far in recent months’ was close to being yet another ‘own goal’ when it comes to ‘political self-awareness’.
Pundits through Monday stressed that Portugal arrived at this point because of work laid down in recent years by the last (PS Socialist) government as well. It is not all down to the policies of the centre-right (which have landed the country in its first general strike for almost 13 years as unions rail against what they see as labour exploitation).
And then one has to remember that “you cannot eat the economy”.
As conversations moved this way, the prime minister was no longer ‘visible’. A minister with a lot less hubris came out to admit: “We should not get too carried away” by The Economist’s recognition.
Manuel Castro Almeida, minister of the Economy and Territorial Cohesion, told TSF Rádio: “There is no point in celebrating, because although it is true that we have been ranked as the best performing economy, coming in first place, this does not transform us from a poor country into a rich one. We did not become a rich country overnight. We were simply a poor country and now we are less poor.
“I would point out that when Luís Montenegro came to power, Portugal had 81% of the European average GDP, so we are still a long way from the European average. Now we are getting closer, but we are getting closer slowly. Our leap was the biggest leap of all the countries analysed, but we have not moved away from being a relatively poor country where there is a lot of injustice and many people living below what we consider to be an acceptable standard of living”.
Castro Almeida also had the courage to stress that “immigration undoubtedly plays an important role” in Portugal’s success.
“The growth in tourism that we have seen in recent years and which promises to continue also plays an important role. Exports play an important role. Labour productivity plays a decisive role. There are several indicators, and for Portugal to be in first place, a set of positive indicators must come together, and all of these are positive indicators” – but none of them have started to trickle down effectively to show improvements in the lives of the country’s poorest.
“Life is very bad for a lot of people”, Castro Almeida admitted.
It was an exceptionally well-timed interview, as all through the day personalities were opining on the ‘significance’ of The Economist’s choice – and concluding that too many people have been allowed to ‘fall through the cracks’ as Portugal basks in the positives of international recognition.
Life on the other side:
Far removed from the talk of ‘strong GDP growth and a booming stock market’ came a story last week about a baby ‘snatched’ by its own mother from a hospital after a court had ordered that the child be taken into care.
The baby was handed into a police station by the mother the next day – and newspapers quickly lost interest in the ‘drama’ – barely even explaining it.
But this was a window into ‘life that is so bad for a lot of people in Portugal’: this was a baby removed not because the mother did not want her (she did); the child was removed because the mother was deemed ‘too poor’ to raise her, according to television host Hernani Carvalho.
Instead of finding a way to keep mother and daughter together, authorities ‘acted in the interests of the child’ and separated them – receiving a surprisingly large sum of money from the state in the process.
As Carvalho stressed: “It’s a disgrace. I am appalled by this: You take a child away from a poor wretch who has no means – and pay the foster family! Why don’t they give the money to the mother?! There are people who are poor their whole lives. Do you lose your child because you are poor?!”
In Portugal, it seems, you do.
ADN – a political party that has not managed representation in parliament – wrote an excoriating post over social networks this month suggesting that the institutionalisation of children in Portugal “is a highly lucrative business”. There is a “shocking lack of consideration in removing children from mothers and fathers who are merely experiencing financial difficulties. Families who could have a normal life if they had minimal support, but who, left to fend for themselves, are crushed by the system (…) These people are not bad parents. They are victims. Victims of a state that, instead of helping them get back on their feet, prefers to take their children away to feed institutions that profit from every child that stays there”.
This is far removed from ‘economic indicators’ and even pastéis de natas – and this is exactly where the ‘far right’ saw their moment: CHEGA leader André Ventura – vying to become Portugal’s next President of the Republic – said he would like the government to view the economy as a ‘service to the people’, rather than an Excel spreadsheet to show the European Union.
People know the ‘truth’ he said. “There is no point trying to deceive them with rankings and numbers, which is just an adulteration of reality”.
