The Prime Minister defended this Wednesday before the President of the Republic that in difficult times such as the current one, it is his duty, and that of the institutions in general, to “join hands and stand side by side”.
António Costa spoke in the Hall of Ambassadors of the Palace of Belém, in Lisbon, during the traditional ceremony of offering happy holidays by the government to the president of the republic.
In a short speech, lasting less than five minutes, the Prime Minister believed that Portugal was going through “very demanding times” this year and in 2023 and had “tough times ahead” due to external factors, noting that the high inflation had not been seen “30 years ago”.
In a speech to the head of state, António Costa added: “Therefore, these are demanding times that demand, more than ever, what has been a hallmark of the relationship between your two mandates and the government’s action, namely cooperation and institutional solidarity.”
“It is also the example that institutions should pass on to society as a whole in these times of crisis and difficulties.defended.
“That’s how we tackled the previous crises, that’s how we tackled the covid crisis in particular and that’s how we have to face this reality”reinforced the prime minister.
According to António Costa, this is one of the last crises in which “distant factors” produce “consequences of greater proximity and more general effects” in Portugal.
“That’s why it’s in our hands to search and mitigate, reduce, which requires a lot of attention to reality, focus on what are the real problems of people, families, companies”to maintain.
“We are not distracted by other phenomena”he claimed.
The prime minister, on the other hand, defended that the government should respond to the “needs of the present” without compromising “confidence reactive in the future”, which should be a “permanent motivation for everyone”.
“That is why I think that after these years of cooperation, in addition to a good Christmas, we should all wish that the next year is lived in the same spirit of cooperation, of institutional solidarity”he declared.
António Costa assured the President of the Republic “you can always count on not only the prime minister, but also all ministers, all ministers, because this is teamwork” and wished him “a very Merry Christmas and a great year 2023”.
Source: DN
