PM gives speech following approval of State Budget; no questions allowed
PM António Costa gave his assessment of the PS Socialists’ last eight years in government, following the approval of the 2024 State Budget by the outgoing absolute majority government.
It was a statement, says Lusa, “without the right to questions”.
Mr Costa said: “In 2024, the Portuguese people will have a budget that continues the trajectory of improving incomes, that promotes investment and protects the future. Over the last eight years, it has been possible to demonstrate that an economic policy that invests in more jobs, more qualifications and more innovation will also lead to more business investment and greater export capacity.
Over the last eight years Portugal has “turned the page on austerity and the country has moved away from excessive deficits to a situation of solid and calm budgetary stability”.
A situation which, in the prime minister’s view, “now increases the freedom of political choices”.
“The country has more capacity, more freedom and will certainly be able to pursue a path of continued improvement,” he went on, as outside a protest involving thousands showed the strength of feeling against the PM’s perceptions.
Isabel Camarinha, leader of CGTP (the confederation of Portuguese trade unions) told the assembled crowd that the 2024 budget, far from improving incomes, was one of the “right-wing, with policies that leave the profits and privileges of the (wealthy) minority untouched.
“It’s a budget for politics that may be approved inside (parliament), but which we reject here because of its contents, because of its choices, because it lacks measures that value labour and workers, improve public services and bring greater social justice and territorial cohesion” to the country.
The PM extolled “eight years of economic convergence with the European Union, something that hasn’t happened since the beginning of the century”, and a trajectory “that will surely continue.”
Lusa adds that the prime minister was “moved” when the Socialist Party’s parliamentary leader, Eurico Brilhante Dias, spoke of “gratitude” for the results achieved during eight years at the helm – “words that prompted a standing ovation from the Socialist MPs”.
As expected today, parliament approved the government’s proposal for the 2024 State Budget bill in what is called ‘a final global vote’, with the Socialist Party voting in favour, Livre and PAN abstaining, and all other parties: PSD, Chega, Iniciativa Liberal, PCP and Bloco de Esquerda voting against.
Within days, the government will be officially ‘dismissed’ as the country now girds itself for the prospect of legislative elections on March 10.
Digesting this afternoon’s events, political commentators appeared to have similar views to those of Isabel Camarinha, and the crowd outside parliament.
José Gomes Ferreira, a veteran of political comings and goings, told SIC, that Mr Costa’s speech was “repetitive and monotonous” and essentially deluded, “because António Costa’s PS government has continued to be one of austerity”.
He added that the State Budget, such as it has turned out, has become “electioneering that distributes benefits on the one hand, but indirectly takes a horrendous amount of money from companies and families”.
He actually suggested that “people don’t quite realise what is going to fall on them: it will be 38% of GDP in tax burden. It has never been like this in Portugal. They are going to take taxes, little taxes” forcing everyday people to have to take “consumption decisions” in order to cope.
