“We need to grow more. Last year we grew a lot, this year we started well, but it decreased in the second and third quarters,” Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said in statements to journalists.
The head of state also considered it necessary to “better distribute the wealth created”.
“The social assistance that the government has provided over the past year and a half to two years because of the war in Ukraine and maintaining the cost of living, all this is compensation and for many people it is essential, but it does not replace the problem of economic growth and the increase in Portuguese income,” he argued.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, as is his custom, followed the Food Bank’s campaign against Hunger and visited the warehouse in Lisbon where food is received, counted and separated.
Asked about the problems in health and education, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said he hoped that next year would be “calmer” in schools and that “the National Health Service management plan, which started late, could recover.” , education and housing are fundamental to people.”
The President of the Republic also stated that next year the Portuguese will have “three moments when they can make their choices”.
“The Portuguese of the Azores may be called to vote sooner, the Portuguese in general already know that in a few months they will be called to vote, and then the Portuguese and Europeans in general will be called to vote after to think about the situation in Europe. on which our situation greatly depends,” he said.
Asked whether he has already made a decision on the situation in the Azores and the possibility of early elections, Marcelo replied that it is necessary to wait “to see what the Council of State says on the 11th”.
During the visit to the Food Bank Against Hunger, the President of the Republic said that he believes that this year it will be possible to improve last year’s record in terms of donations, noting that this campaign “will reach 500,000 people “.
The head of state complained that there are still “one million and 700 thousand people in the poverty zone”, and emphasized the generosity of the Portuguese in this campaign.
The President opined that “the most shocking poverty” is the one that mainly affects children and the elderly, but also highlighted the existence of Portuguese people who work but still live in poverty.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa helped organize the food, took the usual ‘selfies’ and even took the opportunity to have lunch with the volunteers.
The Food Bank Against Hunger’s new food collection campaign launched on Friday and will run across the country until Sunday, with the support of 40,000 volunteers.
As a rule, the Food Bank promotes two campaigns per year that aim to collect basic food for people in need, such as milk, rice, pasta, oil, olive oil, grains, beans, tuna, sausages, biscuits and breakfast cereals.
Source: DN
