Chega leader Andre Ventura said this Wednesday that the Portuguese are “paying more than ever” to supply the car and said the state of the nation is in a state of “impoverishment” with António Costa accusing him of “tricks”. lawyer”.
In the first round of requests for clarification of the State of the Nation debate in the Assembly of the Republic, Andre Ventura turned to health, fire fighting and fuel prices to defend the current situation. an impoverished country, a country with lower incomes, and a country paying more and more to support the socialist machine.”
Criticizing António Costa for wanting to talk about “Ukraine, the international situation, the sea, the coast and the recreation of the Portuguese” during the debate on the state of the nation, leader Chega stressed that he intends to talk about “2.2 million poor and 4 million on the path to poverty”, existing in Portugal.
“Let’s talk about those who earn 1000 or 800 or 900 euros and know that they have lost 30% and 40% of their purchasing power in supermarkets, gasoline, diesel fuel, renting a house, those who can no longer pay for a car who can’t pay for their car,” he stressed.
Turning to the field of fuels, Ventura stressed that despite what António Costa said he “did [a carga fiscal em] 18 percentage points from 2021 on fuel”, the Portuguese “know they are not telling the truth” because “every day they go to the gas station”.
“Those watching us know this because they are paying more than ever to make their car work. That’s why I’m going to give you these numbers, which maybe you can confirm: it’s always expensive, and petrol is 2.26 euros per liter. This is what the Portuguese have to hear at home: 2 euros and 2.26,” he stressed.
“Therefore, before you come here with numbers, and with history, and with [ex-primeiro-ministro, Pedro] Passos Coelhos and others. I had to come here to say: “Portuguese, I’m sorry that we pay so much for diesel and gasoline,” he added.
In his response, Costa emphasized that “naturally” everyone knows that this Wednesday “they are paying more for diesel, more for gasoline than in October” and that fuel prices have risen despite an 18 percentage point decline, leaving criticism of Ventura for using “lawyer’s tricks”.
“The respected MP does this lawyer trick by saying, ‘Well, if the tax burden has been lowered, how will the people at home hear me say they pay more without denying what I can’t deny.’ this?” Antonio Costa accused.
The prime minister emphasized that “people should know” that if the government had not taken the measures it has taken, “at the moment, to fill a 50-liter tank of diesel fuel, they would pay 14 euros more than they are . pay, and if they had 50 liters of gasoline, they would have paid another 16 euros.”
“I’m not saying that gasoline and diesel fuel are not growing. They are growing, and in a dramatic way. Now, as you know, the price of gasoline and diesel fuel is formed on the international market and there is no government that has so far managed to stop the formation of prices for gasoline and diesel fuel,” he stressed.
Costa stressed that the government had already done what it could, reiterating that it had reduced the tax burden on fuel by 18 percentage points: “Governments can do what we did (…) to make people pay less than if we just talked, talked, talked like you, and didn’t do what we do: rule.”
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
