The president of the republic on Saturday defended a balance in the family support package, which the government will announce to respond to inflation, given that urgent action is needed, but measures must be adjusted month after month. “It is necessary to act urgently, but cautiously in order to monitor economic developments,” said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, on the sidelines of the visit to the Lisbon Book Fair.
Asked about the package of measures to support families that the executive will announce Monday, the head of state shielded himself from the comments of the governor of the Bank of Portugal, Mário Centeno, who defended on Thursday that no measures should be taken. -cyclical.
“That’s what the governor of the Bank of Portugal said. On the one hand, there must be a shock intervention to compensate for the situation experienced in recent months and at the moment, and on the other hand, we have to monitor – I have repeat this – inflation. There are people who think that inflation can go down from October, November,” the PR said.
For Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the measures announced will be aimed at an “immediate shock effect”, but it is necessary to bear in mind that if inflation plummets from the end of the year, they will “need to be adjusted”.
“There are some conditions that may not be repeatable for the year. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) may not grow that much anymore, the situation in terms of availability may not be that great and so there has to be this balance: to manage the situation in which it is necessary to attack urgently and to see the evolution of the economy and of inflation itself to ensure that it is necessary to permanently adapt the measures and the implementation of the measures to the evolution of the situation experienced”, wrinkled .
He also cited targeted measures with no lasting effect, direct support to families, support to “certain sectors of the economy that are more sensitive to the rise in energy prices”, “support to the most deprived sectors” and “some things for the middle class” .
Marcelo also believed that “the measures could have been taken a little earlier”, but admitted that “they are now being announced across Europe”. He also emphasized that the impact of rising energy prices and inflation mainly affects the middle class. “Of course energy affects everyone, but especially the middle class and other inflation costs affect the middle class, namely it shrinks the middle class, empty the middle class. It is a concern in all European countries,” he said.
Source: DN
