The head of state warned this Friday of a “very difficult” moment that families and businesses will have to deal with rising interest rates and energy, in addition to the observed rise in inflation.
“I do not hide the fact that inflation and the rise in the cost of living, the rise in the cost of energy and, of course, also the measures taken against inflation by raising interest rates, create a very difficult situation for families and companies in our country,” Marcelo Rebelo de Souza said in a statement. for journalists.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Câmara de Fafe initiative in the district of Braga, which marked the 48th anniversary of democracy in Portugal, the President believes that the situation at the end of 2021 or in the first three months of 2022, before the war, “in many respects there is no comparison with the current situation” .
“We currently have a more difficult situation for the Portuguese than four or seven months ago,” he said.
However, for Marcelo, the difficult situation, which includes the war in Ukraine, “cannot be an excuse for not taking steps that interest the country, in what is possible.”
“This applies to education, healthcare, economic activity, the airport and decentralization,” he stressed, suggesting: “Give space to what depends on us. In what is beyond our control, perhaps the Portuguese are aware that there are limitations that we cannot overcome, and inflation is one of them.
On the other hand, when asked about the talks between the government and the SDP on a new Lisbon airport, he said that there is “a way for both parties to reach a broader consensus, believing that it is not ‘impossible'”. problem”.
“You can evaluate the LNEC, you can do the work in Lisbon, you can take into account the conditions set last year for Montijo, you can evaluate all of this at the same time. takes some time, but with the participation of all interested parties, it is possible to reach an agreement,” he said.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
