The Prime Minister underlined this Monday the sense of urgency and consistency on the part of the President of the Republic, who began promulgating the social support measures shortly after the government approved them at the Extraordinary Council of Ministers.
The position was handed over to António Costa after he was confronted with the fact that Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa quickly adopted eight social support measures worth 2,400 million euros, measures that the prime minister himself was still presenting to journalists at a press conference.
According to the head of the executive branch, the efficiency of the head of state in the implementation of social support measures recently approved by the government means “consistency.”
“The President of the Republic realized that the measures were urgent and could not be more urgent. I have just gone to present measures to the President of the Republic. Decree [do Governo] is in the presidency [da República] and is now operational,” he said.
With this, the Prime Minister took the opportunity to complete his answer to the previous question about the political relationship between the Government and the President of the Republic, in particular with regard to measures to mitigate the effects of inflation on families.
“I was asked what assessment the President of the Republic would give to these measures of the Government. However, if I had given a negative assessment, I would have vetoed the diploma,” he replied.
When asked whether the measures now taken by the government correspond to the expectations expressed by the head of state, António Costa said that only the President of the Republic himself can dispel this doubt.
But he left a comment on this: “The government and the President of the Republic maintain constant, regular contact, and, as you know, this dialogue has been going very well for almost seven years.”
“Therefore, it will continue,” the Prime Minister added, emphasizing in the same context that “the government has an obligation to respect its program, which has been approved by the Portuguese, and to take into account what all political agents and social partners think.”
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
