On the eve of the final vote on the state budget, Pedro Nuno Santos gave an interview to TSF. There he explained some of the PS government’s different positions regarding negotiations with teachers and doctors.
For Pedro Nuno Santos, who you can hear tomorrow morning on the informative radio broadcast, the “right accounts” policy is a necessity, but it is desirable to reduce the public debt more slowly and allow greater investments in public services. “The trajectory of the national debt settlement could be different. It could be the trajectory that the government itself has agreed with Brussels.”
He argued that it will only be possible to guarantee the function of public services if the income of health and education workers recovers strongly.
The candidate tried to escape the labels of left and right, radical and moderate, in relation to comparisons with his party colleague José Luís Carneiro. He assured several times that these appointments “are for political commentators and analysts”, but that the Portuguese people and himself were interested in knowing what was possible for the country and the differences between the PS and the PSD.
“The candidacy that I lead has a greater mobilization capacity (…). The ability to mobilize the energy of the Portuguese people so that we can make Portugal a country [em] that’s worth living. And I think we do that better than any other candidate,” he guaranteed.
For about fifty minutes, the candidate for the leadership of the Socialist Party answered questions from two journalists, including the director of the TSF, Rosália Amorim. There was talk of alliance politics, TAP, Influencer, the National Health Service, the demands of teachers, housing and the policies needed to end low wages.
Regarding the National Health Service (SNS), Pedro Nuno Santos has committed to reducing the cost of this service to private parties, almost half of the SNS budget, stating that it is more than an ideological issue, but a matter of management and profitability of resources. And even private companies that outsource services today understand the need to have high-quality resources. In this sense, he argues that doctors should get their income back and that the NHS should be attractive to healthcare professionals. “Without healthcare professionals there is no functioning NHS,” he warns.
In order to solve the housing problem, which affects a large part of Portuguese, the former holder of the portfolio which also included Housing, states that in his opinion a large part of Europe is facing this problem because houses are no longer are intended solely for residential purposes. but they became the object of demand as financial assets that increased their price and demand. However, the socialist warns that the policies that can be pursued against financialization “are not a panacea for the housing problem.” “We are part of the European Union (EU), which prevents a series of measures. Capital mobility cannot be stopped unless we are willing to leave the single currency.” For the socialist, ‘the most effective strategy [reforço do] Public Housing Park”.
Pedro Nuno Santos is against supporting a PSD government to prevent Chega ministers from ascending to the executive branch. He states that the growth of the far right is an international phenomenon, and that “democracy needs an escape valve” and the difference and alternation between a PS and a PSD that have different programs. For the candidate, the extreme right would be helped if the PS were a supporter for a PSD government with its right-wing policies.
Source: DN
