The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, was vaccinated against the flu and Covid-19 this Monday in Restelo. However, the main topic of conversation with journalists was different: the tug-of-war between PSD and PS in the discussion of the State Budget for 2025.
After joking about having received “the Covid vaccine on the left side and the flu vaccine on the right side, without political significance” and appealing to the Portuguese to join the vaccination campaign, the Head of State turned his attention to the parties, emphasizing that “if there is no State Budget, there is a political crisis,” so he is “trying to convince everyone that it’s worth approving the Budget.”
Although he considers that “today is a good day because the meeting between the two leaders of the two main parties is already scheduled,” Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa hopes that this is just “one of several steps towards that path” which he considers “the best for Portugal.”
“What we want is to avoid crises, to reach the end of October or November and conclude that there is no Budget. And if there isn’t, there’s a crisis. There’s a political and economic crisis because it’s not the same thing to have a Budget and not to have a Budget. The parties made promises, both those in the Government and those in the opposition, that imply a Budget, and therefore, if there is no Budget, it means that none of those promises will be fulfilled,” he concluded without, however, stating whether, if this happens, he will or will not call elections.
“We haven’t concluded anything, the only conclusion is that it’s worth passing the Budget. I’m still hooked on that – as the people say,” he added.
It’s worth remembering that the PSD and PS will meet on Friday, September 27, to try to reach a consensus.
