“Cavaco Silva entered the election campaign. He went in with both feet”João Duque, professor of economics at ISEG, explained to DN, when asked whether the article that the former President of the Republic signed this Monday in the newspaper Público, entitled “Certain accounts”, the trap to deceive the Portugueseis a mission in preparation for the parliamentary elections of March 2024.
‘He actively participated in the election campaign’emphasizes João Duque, adding that he does not know “if it is very good”. “Because there are always antibodies in these things, which will be generated later. The government will take advantage of this and will try to unite the left around this antipathy towards Cavaco, which the left cherishes.”the economist insists.
Aníbal Cavaco Silva, op PublicWhile trying to prescribe a trend that should regulate the 2024 state budget (OE2024), they leave a series of criticisms to the executive led by António Costa. The former head of state uses a slogan that the government has used several times to justify the decisions it has taken in the budgetary area – ‘correct accounts’ – and accuses the executive of ‘diverting attention and ignoring the negative consequences of its policies’. oppress’. examples, such as “the waste of public money, evidenced by the sharp growth of public expenditure, while at the same time witnessing the deterioration in the quality of public services provided to the citizens”. Furthermore, Cavaco states that “the pitfall of the ‘right accounts’ was also an attempt to hide the incompetence and low moral quality of some ministers”.
“What Cavaco is trying to do is make the PSD – because there is undoubtedly Cavaco’s association with the PSD – a more active party in para-electoral lawsuits, to take away Chega’s visibility and exuberance”analyzes João Duque, deepening the idea that the battle for the 2024 parliamentary elections is being anticipated. “It is a reminder to those who, possibly disappointed, irritated, I don’t know what, with the situation, will vote for Chega “, says the economist about “older people” who voted for Cavaco Silva and who, seeing that he “is now coming back and taking on the role of PSD, may give the party an “advantage” for the last time. .
“This is a step that I have no doubts about. Cavaco joined the campaign because he had already gone to the PSD congress. He appears and is now writing this article. He doesn’t need to write an article like this. Write this article now and let’s see if this isn’t the first in a series. Because now each of his sentences can be the subject of a specific article. He could write an article for the newspapers every week now”suggests the economist.
From an economic perspective “What Cavaco Silva proposes is a model in which someone outside the government, and therefore impartial, has to determine the equilibrium, so that the government can then propose the distribution of expenditure within that equilibrium.”emphasizes João Duque, who explains, however, that “that does not exist.
Therefore, at this point, the sole responsibility of the government is not only to distribute expenditure within the budget, but also to distribute the balance itself. First of all, both the balance and the distribution of expenditure are of course questionable, the economics professor confirms.
Cavaco Silva, in the above-mentioned text, cites articles by economists Daniel Bessa and Ricardo Paes Mamede and recalls that “the expression ‘certain accounts’ is qualified [por eles] unusual, absurd, empty and ambiguous”.
Ricardo Paes Mamede, professor of economics at ISCTE, told DN that “what is called correct accounting is an excessive effort to keep the budget within limits, which ultimately has negative consequences for public services.” But specifically with regard to the article of the former President of the Republic, the economist argues that ‘It’s just a partisan battle text, it’s not even political’by Cavaco Silva live “very frustrated by the idea that the PS is taking over the PSD’s space in defending budget control”. Therefore, from Paes Mamede’s perspective, “this frustration pushes him to make this attack. Because in reality, if we try to understand from Cavaco Silva’s article what he is actually defending, all that remains is a more or less vague idea. that the correct level of the budget balance should be a technical decision, which is a somewhat extravagant idea,” he analyzes. “I would like to hear Cavaco Silva explain what he believes should be the budget balances of recent years. Do you think so? they should be better, do you think they should be smaller? We could not understand that from his article. All we can see is questioning the correct calculations,” the economist concludes.
The parliamentary leader of the PS, Eurico Brilhante Dias, responded on Facebook on Monday to Cavaco Silva’s article and answered the provocation that the former head of state addressed to some Socialist ministers. “Of weak moral quality”wrote the PS deputy, who criticized this ‘Pretending we don’t know that the argument of the lack of correct accounts was used to cut salaries, pensions and social benefits, to massively increase taxes and shrink the social state, degrading the public school and the SNS , with historical consequences. emigration figures (…). All because the bills were wrong”, finishes. “Those who live off their salary and pension know very well what the ‘trap’ is,” the deputy concludes.
Chega’s leader, André Ventura, also responded to Cavaco Silva in statements to journalists in Lisbon. “I see that the PSD is constantly stuck in that past. It is waiting for Pedro Passos Coelho, or it is waiting for Aníbal Cavaco Silva, or it wants Durão Barroso to return, Manuela Ferreira Leite… I mean, that is what we have to people after eight years of socialist government?” he asked.
Source: DN
