Manuel Pizarro was not yet the worst minister in the government (the ‘award’ goes to João Galamba), but it is very close. Judging by the results of the Aximage survey for DN, JN and TSF, the government official is footing the bill for the conflict with doctors and the health crisis. Of the five ministers evaluated, there is only one case of a positive balance: Mariana Vieira da Silva.

Since taking on his healthcare role last September, and with each passing barometer, Manuel Pizarro’s rating has consistently deteriorated. But this time the drop was even more pronounced: from 22 to 42 points negative balance (difference between positive and negative evaluations). When analyzing the results by age group, it is clear that the older the respondents are, i.e. the greater the concerns about their health, the greater the percentage of negative reviews (in the case of those aged 65 or over it is 67%) .

An assessment that seems to be in line with the results of a survey published last Thursday, in which it became clear that 61% of Portuguese hold the minister responsible for prolonging the conflict with doctors; and that a majority of 50% say they agree with the strikes, even though they know it means postponing appointments and surgeries (31% disagree).

Negative finances

The Minister of Finance is doing slightly better than his colleagues from Infrastructure (Galamba) and Health (Pizarro), but he also has no reason to celebrate. The media protagonism he achieved with the presentation of the state budget, in which he claimed greater relief from the IRS than expected, had no effect and Fernando Medina continues with a negative balance, which has even worsened and now stands at 29 points .

When analyzing the answers from the age segments, the evolution is the opposite of that in healthcare: the younger the respondents, the higher the percentage of negative evaluations. Another fundamental difference with Pizarro is that he maintains a high popularity among socialist voters (63% positive evaluations).

Ventura leads the opposition at low tide

The opposition as a whole is generally very negative. But in this barometer it breaks all records, with a negative balance of 37 points, the worst since the start of this series of barometers in July 2020. A result that coincides with the fact that André Ventura (39%), President of Chega , to to increase his lead over Luís Montenegro (24%) of PSD, when asked who the main opposition figure is. The leader of the radical right party is winning across all geographic age and social segments. When the analysis focuses on the party vote, Montenegro leads between Social Democrats and Socialists. Note the loss of Mariana Mortágua (8%), who is still in third place.