The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, declared in Bruges on Thursday that the reduction of the national debt is “a triumph of Portuguese democracy”. Asked about the government’s targets in next year’s state budget, Marcelo believes that Portugal is taking the lead in Europe in debt reduction.
“This makes a difference at the European level, compared to other countries, even economically powerful countries, then the European institutions cannot take Portugal,” said the President of the Republic, arguing that in this way the European institutions “ No, true we can say that we are in a situation that is not, if not the best for everyone, for the Portuguese, because this is not just a European mania”.
The President of the Republic believes that by reducing debt, Portugal is better positioned to attract foreign investment, and that “in the future, Portugal will have an opening to the foreign market in terms of debt and lower interest rates and credibility, of public investments and private.”
“Private people look at this when they say ‘we are going to invest in Portugal, but with this very high public debt it will have huge costs’ – No, with the much lower public debt it is worth investing more in Portugal” , he thought.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa understands that there is a change in mentality that makes the difference and is “a great triumph of Portuguese democracy and a great triumph of the Portuguese mentality”. “We must convince everyone that the problem of the state’s financial balance is crucial and that the problem of the national debt is crucial,” he said.
“Thirty years ago it wasn’t like that, forty years ago people were used to budget deficits and rising debts. The question was how far the Portuguese national debt will rise. Now the good news is how quickly it will drop. and how important it is that it comes to an end,” said the President of the Republic on the sidelines of the state visit to Belgium.
Source: DN
