The president of the Liberal Initiative considered this Monday that the President of the Government would give an “important signal” if he participated in the meetings on the State Budget and reiterated that he has seen “worrying signs” about the path that the Government intends to take.
“I think it would be an important signal from the Prime Minister, at some point, to have this round with the political leaders of the other parties, because it would certainly give a signal of interest and openness so that there can be a serious negotiation, an in-depth negotiation of the Budget issues,” said Rui Rocha in statements to journalists in parliament, before the start of the parliamentary sessions of the Liberal Initiative (IL).
The IL leader said that the Prime Minister “will know” whether he will participate in future meetings, but reiterated that he thinks it “would be desirable” for him to do so.
Asked whether he had any conversations with Luis Montenegro about the State Budget, Rui Rocha said there had been no “important contacts” and that negotiations had proceeded “normally”.
“We have participated in meetings in which the Government believes that political parties must be included, we have made our contributions,” he said, adding that the party’s position “is clear.”
“We will vote on the Budget with a sense of responsibility. We did not make a statement, as other parties do, before meeting with him and, regarding IL’s final position, it is open.“, he stressed.
However, the IL leader stressed that he had seen “worrying signs” about the path the government intends to take in relation to the budget proposal, in particular with regard to possible “concessions to the PS”.
“When we see the possibility of giving in to the PS, we are seeing the possibility of giving in to what is essential to transform the country. Therefore, I believe that the Portuguese have expressed their desire for change and a concession to the PS is far from this desire for change but also from the positions of the IL,” he stressed.
The IL leader also announced that, at the end of these parliamentary sessions, on Tuesday, he will present a “set of measures” on the State Budget which he will then send to the Government.
“There will be an IL position on things that we consider fundamental and that we will divide into two structuring areas: one with major issues – Finance, economy, health – and another with measures of lesser scope, but which will also be important for the people who can lead them,” he stressed.
Asked whether he would feel comfortable with the possibility of early legislative elections, Rui Rocha stressed that “if there is a good budget, it might be better not to have elections,” but reiterated that, for the moment, this is not the case. It is not yet known whether this will be the case.
“If we are talking about a budget that prolongs economic stagnation, the decline of public services, a state business sector that has not been reformed and that has not reviewed its fundamental lines of action, a state that is incapable of reforming itself, I think that, for that reason, it is not worth betting on political stability and stagnation, because we are wasting more time,” he said.
Source: Observadora
