PS Deputy Secretary General João Torres urged the PSD leader to “speak truthfully and transparently to the country”, reacting to Luís Montenegro’s statements that the Portuguese economy “is very dependent”.
“In 2014, when we had more than double the unemployment rate and when we grew seven times less than in 2022, [Luís Montenegro] he seemed to be very satisfied. For this reason, it is essential that we speak truthfully and transparently to the Portuguese,” João Torres told the Lusa news agency.
The war in Ukraine created a context of adversity, which has economic and social consequences, but in Portugal we still have reasons to believe in a better future”, he said, “the growth of the Gross Domestic Product last year is an example of this” .
João Torres was speaking on the sidelines of a visit to Noras Performance, the company that produces the Portuguese ‘U Safe’ buoy, located in Torres Vedras, a municipality in the Lisbon district where the PS started the national route “PS em Proximidade”. . “The examples of what we had the opportunity to visit are inspiring and show that Portugal has the conditions to assert itself through its competitiveness, innovation, talent and creativity,” he added.
The socialist also recalled that “Portugal was the second country in the European Union that grew the most in 2022″It has an unemployment rate “half” that of 2015 and that, since 2016, “has grown above the European Union average”, with the exception of 2020.
The president of the PSD said this Tuesday that Portugal has a very dependent economy and, therefore, when “there is a cold in Europe, it usually causes pneumonia in Portugal.”
Luís Montenegro also pointed out the need for Portugal to have a “friendlier taxation” for families and companies.
In his opinion, if Portugal does not take this position, the country will remain dependent on the “oscillations” of the European Union.
“If we do not do this, we will always be waiting for what the European Union will give to the oscillations,” he reaffirmed.
He also reminded journalists that there are many families and people who do not have the money to cover essential expenses, be it food, energy, electricity consumption, gas, fuel, among others.
“We have one million 900 thousand Portuguese who live on the poverty line or, in fact, in poverty, with an income of less than 554 euros, if it were not for state aid, and that figure would increase to four million 400 thousand . Therefore, we are talking about almost half of the Portuguese population, which is on the poverty line, ”he said.
According to the president of the PSD, if the economy has a period of recession, stagnation, limited or anemic growth, this will hinder the ability to create conditions for these people to get out of poverty.
Source: Observadora
