When António Costa took office at the end of March as head of his third government – now backed by a surprising absolute majority of the PS – no one expected the government to evolve into what it is today: an endless succession of shots in the feet – in some cases in files with budgetary implications.
Yesterday, the Council of Ministers met in Algés, in the former buildings of the Ministry of Sea, to discuss the draft law that the government will submit to parliament next Monday the 10th, containing the state budget for the following year (OE2023 ). Apparently meeting behind closed doors, like all plenary government meetings – and eventually without briefing explanation to journalists. The government should meet again this week to finalize the proposal to be submitted to deputies.
One of the issues that caused internal divisions and that is related to the budget proposal has to do with the IRC (something that is discussed in the context of the Income Agreement in social consultations). Economy Minister António Costa Silva defended a “cross-cutting” cut in corporate profits tax. After that, it was disallowed by the finance minister – which is understandable, because Medina is the guardian of state revenues and has never had supporters in the PS theories of fiscal shocks. The strange thing was that the minister would also be criticized for his proposal by two of his three secretaries of state (João Mendes and Rita Marques, both inherited from the team of the previous minister of portfolio, Pedro Siza Vieira). At a meeting in parliament, Costa Silva fueled the controversy by replying to his “helpers”: “I’m used to being on time.”
At the same time, Cohesion Minister Ana Abrunhosa is facing suspicions over her husband (the minister in charge of EU funds and her husband, a businessman, has obtained EU funds), after he pledged yesterday to Parliament at the request of the PSD, the two opinions (from the PGR and the government) which it has in its favour.
His newly appointed government colleague Manuel Pizarro, Marta Temido’s successor in Health after a disastrous summer in the SNS’s obstetric emergencies, was first faced with the problem of being married to the president of the Order of Nutritionists, committing himself to not to make any decisions on this matter. In recent days, information has also come out that he owns a health consultancy (“Manuel Pizarro – Consultadoria, Lda”), which has pledged to shut it down while he is in government. Not to mention the mess that the Minister of Infrastructure, Pedro Nuno Santos, made up when he decided to go ahead with the final idea for the new Lisbon airport without the Prime Minister’s permission or the history of hiring of a former journalist by the Minister of Finance, with a salary well above what is paid to assistants and advisers.
Mayors busy
The government therefore arrives at OE2023 with notorious problems of internal unity – perhaps due to the certainty given to it by being backed by an absolute majority – and at the same time, as usual, faced with corporate pressures from the most varied sectors.
Yesterday, the ANMP (National Association of Portuguese Municipalities) demanded that the government “strict compliance” with the Local Financial Act (LFL) by 2023, implying the transfer to municipalities of a reinforcement of 219.73 million euros.
Speaking to the Lusa agency, Social Democrat Ribau Esteves (mayor of Aveiro) recalled that the “compromise agreement” signed with the government includes a series of measures in the field of education and health. In 2023, such measures will “have a significant financial impact on the accounts of municipalities”, the mayor in Coimbra said after a meeting of the board of directors, which saw the president of the association, the socialist Luísa Salgueiro, who is in charge of Matosinhos. , was not present.
Ribau Esteves defended that OE2023 should “provide the necessary financial resources” to implement those measures. “The value of the money transfer to the municipalities must grow by 219.73 million euros in 2023 compared to 2022”, defended the ANMP leader and emphasized that “this is a central point” for the association. Ribau also recalled that the municipalities have not yet been reimbursed by the central administration for the costs they incurred with the covid-19 pandemic.
“There are EUR 156 million in expenditure made by the municipalities to help the central state fight the pandemic and support the most vulnerable people, whose reimbursement should be included in the next budget,” the deputy said. President of the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities.
Calendar
October 10 – Delivery day by the Government of the OE2023 proposal to the Assembly of the Republic. The Council of Ministers will meet again at the end of this week to finalize the proposal. The government should also organize meetings with the parliamentary parties to present to them the general lines of the document, namely the forecasts of the macroeconomic framework.
October 21 and 24 – Ministers of Finance and Social Security heard in the Parliamentary Finance Committee
October 26 and 27 – Debate and vote on the state budget in general in the plenary session of the Assembly of the Republic
Nov 11 – Deadline for submission of amendment proposals submitted by the parties.
November 25th – OE2023 Global Final Vote. It will enter into force on January 1, 2023.
Source: DN
