The president of the republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, declined to comment Tuesday on the 2% benchmark for public service increases proposed by the government, noting that the macroeconomic scenario for next year is not yet known. is.
“This is a matter for next year’s budget. (…) This will be discussed in parliament, we will see the bills. We still don’t have something very important, which is the macroeconomic scenario. Portugal needs Brussels his perspectives on the evolution of growth, inflation, the different components of growth, the deficit, and then explain ‘Look, I’m raising this more or less because these are the perspectives’,” he emphasized.
The head of state spoke at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, in Lisbon, where he attended the presentation of the book “Orgulhosamente Sós, A Diplomacia da Guerra 1962-1974”, by the current Portuguese ambassador to Morocco, Bernardo Futscher Pereira.
Marcelo was asked on Monday about the prime minister’s interview with TVI/CNN Portugal in which he stated that the government is working with an inflation benchmark of 7.4% in 2022, although rejecting an increase in government salaries in the same proportion.
Costa admitted the benchmark for the increases will be 2%, in line with what the European Union considers ideal to avoid an inflation spiral, but also taking into account “productivity and the target of increasing the wage share” in the product . “.
When asked if this is a low base, the president just said: “Let’s see what the forecast is. Is the government forecast that next year will be a bad year? And growth will be very low and inflation Is it still very high? It’s one thing. Growth isn’t that low, inflation is falling, it’s another thing. Let’s wait.”
The head of state thinks these government forecasts will be presented soon, as the next budget is due in October.
“And that’s why I think there will be a debate in parliament about what the government predicts is the evolution for next year, growth, inflation, deficit, what will happen in the different spending: in health care, in education, in officials and also in terms of the weight of interest on the national debt,” he pointed out.
As for the government’s measures to fight inflation related to pensions, Marcelo recalled that this week the executive diploma embodying this issue will be discussed in parliament, which will then move on to the specialty phase and the final global mood.
“I don’t know the law, but I think it could cover next year’s issue, I don’t know, I need to see it. Anyway, then there will be the state budget and it will have to cover the matter for next year.” there will be the 2024 budget to forecast the increase for the next year. That’s why we’re waiting for these three moments to get a full picture of the situation,” he said.
Airport decision at the end of 2023? “It’s a good new one”
As for the Prime Minister’s statement, in his interview with TVI/CNN Portugal, that a final decision on the location of the new Lisbon airport will be made by the end of 2023, Marcelo said he sees it “with good eyes”.
“I welcome the fact that we are currently making progress with studies, especially environmental studies, and at the same time with the dialogue necessary between political, economic and social entities to reach a decision as quickly as possible. I said I hoped that I would not come to the end of my term without a decision on this matter,” he replied.
According to the head of state, “anything that says ‘there will be a decision’ is good news”.
Cyberattack in Defense: “Let’s wait and see what is determined to find out exactly what happened”
The head of state was also asked about the cyber-attack on the General Staff of the Armed Forces extracting secret NATO documents and putting them up for sale on the ‘dark Web’, reported by DN, which led to the opening of an investigation by the Public Prosecution Service. .
“Let’s wait and see what is determined to know exactly what happened and only then will we see what kind of action needs to be taken,” he replied.
Marcelo also said that this is “an assessment that is naturally relevant in internal and external terms”, as Portugal “integrates international organizations that are naturally following this issue closely”.
The head of state said that preventing such attacks is “an ongoing challenge” as the means of obtaining unauthorized information “are becoming more sophisticated”.
Marcelo attended the presentation of the book “Orgulhosamente Sós, A Diplomacia da Guerra 1962-1974” (edited by Don Quixote) and attended a conversation between historian Filipe Ribeiro de Meneses and the author of the work and current ambassador to Morocco, Bernardo Futscher Pereira, moderated by journalist Luísa Meireles.
The work, part of a trilogy devoted to the diplomatic history of the Estado Novo, describes the regime’s attempts to escape international isolation and find indispensable support for the war effort it has carried out in Angola, Mozambique and Guinea. .
In 1965, in a scenario of international isolation, the then President of the Council, António de Oliveira Salazar, uttered a phrase referring to the colonial war, saying: “We fight without spectacle and without alliances – pride alone”.
The President of the Republic also went to the pulpit to present the book and spoke about the work for about 40 minutes, highlighting its “exceptional quality” and its importance “for making the history of Portugal”.
Regarding Salazar’s insistence on maintaining colonial rule, Marcelo noted that “this is what normally happens in end-regime cycles” in which “there is no more clarity” and rationality.
The president recalled Adriano Moreira, who was a minister during the Estado Novo and recently turned 100, as one of the “very intelligent, bright personalities” who “played” in him until almost the end of the regime.
“Even when there are all the external and internal signs of crisis in the regime, its functioning is so strong – this happens even in democracy – that up to the last moment one acts within the framework of the reality that exists and not in a external framework,” he added.
News updated at 22:31
Source: DN
