Will the State Budget Pass? President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa Weighs In

President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa's Optimism

In a recent statement, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa expressed confidence that the State Budget will be approved, emphasizing that Portuguese citizens do not desire a political crisis. He trusts the good sense of the political parties and the government to reach a consensus.

Socialist Party's Conditions for Negotiation

Responding to Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, who challenged the opposition to clarify their position on the budget negotiations, Pedro Nuno Santos, the Socialist Party leader, outlined three essential conditions for the party to engage in discussions:

1. Transparency on Public Accounts: The first condition is receiving information on the public accounts that was requested a month ago. Pedro emphasized that "serious evaluation of a budget proposal requires total transparency on the public accounts for the current and upcoming year."

2. Tax Regime Revisions: The second condition involves altering the proposed IRS and IRC tax regimes that the Socialist Party deems "deeply unjust, ineffective in achieving economic policy goals, and unjustifiable from a budgetary perspective." He firmly stated, "The Socialist Party will never support a State Budget that includes these tax regimes."

3. Legislative Authorization Proposals: Lastly, he noted that if the legislative proposals regarding IRC and IRS are approved in coalition with the Liberal Initiative and Chega, then those parties should also be responsible for passing the State Budget.

Commitment to a Rectifying Budget

Pedro Nuno Santos assured that if the three conditions are met, the Socialist Party would propose measures aimed at creating a better State Budget for the country. He also expressed a willingness to approve a rectifying budget if the initial State Budget is rejected, stating, "It will not be the Socialist Party's fault if the agreements made with various public administration groups are not fulfilled."

Remarks from Prime Minister António Costa

Before heading to Brussels, António Costa participated in a Socialist Academy event, where he reiterated that if budget negotiations fail, it will not be Pedro Nuno Santos' fault. He highlighted the experience that the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party brings to the table for these challenging negotiations, reflecting on the previous left-wing agreements during the gerigonça period.