The Portuguese assessment of the “Families First” package is very negative. The measure most criticized by DN, JN and TSF, according to a survey by Aximage, is that of retirees: 61% fail the government’s solution, as it will penalize pensions in the future. There is no doubt about the financial support for employees (€125) and their children (€50) either: two-thirds of Portuguese (67%) exchanged this one-off allowance for a reduction in IRS rates.
The government promoted the advance of “half board” as an exceptional aid. That’s what’s still on the official page today. The opposition argued that it was not aid, but a “trick”, preventing a final update of pensions according to the value of this year’s inflation, as envisaged by the law designed by the socialists. This last dissertation won. Only a small minority (23%) consider the measure positive.
Sentiment is strikingly negative in all segments in which the sample is divided, including those who voted for the PS in the January elections (52%). But if you analyze the results by age group, you can see where the concern is greater: the two oldest groups (55 to 64 years old, who are reaching retirement age; and 65 years or older, who are already there) are the most dissatisfied: the negative rating is almost 70 percentage points. In addition, a majority of respondents (45%) add in a second question that government support is lower than expected.
dissatisfied socialists
It is already on October 20 that the state will start delivering two of the tranches included in its package to respond to the price increase: the 125 euros to employees with a monthly income of up to 2700 euros, and the 50 euros for each dependent child and young person up to 24 years of age. In the case of a couple with two children, this means a check for 350 euros. But very few show any satisfaction with any of these measures.
Of 125 euros, 55% say it is lower than expected (especially for 50-64 year olds); at 50 euros for their children, 54% are also dissatisfied (especially between the ages of 35 and 49). Also on these specific issues, dissatisfaction runs through all party segments, including those who voted for the PS (albeit to a lesser extent than others).
Tax Reduction
Only in one case did PS voters show a different trend from the other party segments: when asked whether the government has gone to the limit of state capacity with the “Families First” package, a majority of socialists agree (42 %). As for the others, the exact opposite is true. And when the opinion of the group of respondents is weighted, those who disagree are exactly twice as many (48%) as those who agree (24%).
With so much dissatisfaction with the government package, it is not surprising that a large majority of Portuguese would prefer a cut in IRS rates (67%), large or small, over the extraordinary support they will receive (26%). In this case, even socialist voters are not deviating from the general sentiment: 64% wanted a decline in the IRS.
DATA SHEET
The survey was conducted by Aximage for the DN, JN and TSF, with the aim of evaluating the Portuguese’s opinion of the government’s support measures.
The fieldwork took place between 21 and 24 September 2022 and 810 interviews were conducted among people over 18 years old living in Portugal. A quota sample, obtained through a gender, age, and region (NUTSII) cross matrix, was performed from the known universe, rebalanced by gender, age group, and education. For a probability sample of 810 interviews, the maximum standard deviation of a proportion is 0.017 (ie a “margin of error” – at 95% – of 3.44%). Study responsibility: Aximage Comunicação e Imagem, Lda., under the technical direction of Ana Carla Basílio.
Source: DN
