Costa announces the Council of Ministers’ approval of unemployment benefits for victims of domestic violence

Antonio Costa announced that unemployment benefits for victims of domestic violence will be approved this Thursday by the Council of Ministers. The Prime Minister made this statement during a two-week debate this Wednesday in the Assembly of the Republic.

The head of the executive branch suggested that the privatization of TAR is not a mandatory point in negotiations with Brussels. “I expressed myself poorly,” the Prime Minister said this Wednesday.

When asked by Joaquim Miranda Sarmento of the PSD about the differences between António Costa and then-minister Pedro Nuno Santos, the chief executive confirmed that the sale was not binding. “That’s not really necessarily in the plan. I expressed myself poorly.”

António Costa also believes that the political right is “perplexed” and does not know what to say about the 2024 budget proposal, arguing that their lines of demarcation towards socialist governments have collapsed.

“The right-wing opposition is completely confused and doesn’t know what to say. They’ve already said a little bit of everything: that the budget was pipi, well presented and cheap; they have already said that I am a Portuguese communist; and the Liberal Initiative even said that I have three hands,” commented the leader of the executive branch, causing laughter among the PS deputies.

Andre Ventura, in turn, said that the state budget for 2024 is “the biggest scam” and “the largest fraud in living memory.” The Chegi leader accused the prime minister of “deceiving the Portuguese every day.” Ventura also said that he believes the prime minister has “three hands”: “there are two hands, the ones that govern, and there is the hand that always pulls the strings of the Portuguese.”

“If there is a third hand in Portugal, then I will tell you face to face: it is not private people who work and win. If there is a third hand in Portugal, it is the politicians and those who in Portugal destroyed our democratic system,” he said. Ventura.

In his response, the Prime Minister noted that it was “difficult to maintain” with Andre Ventura “a debate at the level to which the Assembly of the Republic is accustomed.”

The Chegi leader also asked António Costa if he had said that “the fault for the delays in the emergency department is that there are too many users there”, but before answering, he accused the head of government of saying “the Portuguese are not go to the emergency room.”

In response, the prime minister refused to blame the emergency care problems on the Portuguese and defended the adoption of a “new referral methodology” that allows patients to receive care at local health facilities.

“The images are recorded, I obviously did not say that the Portuguese were to blame for the emergency problem. […] I didn’t say that, period,” he said in the Assembly of the Republic.

Liberal Initiative (IL) MP Rui Rocha called on the Prime Minister to reject the increase in one-time imports (IUC). for cars before 2007, since “many Portuguese cannot upgrade their refrigerator, let alone their car.”

“You want to punish people who don’t have the resources to change vehicles,” the IL leader said.

In response, Antonio Costa said “choices must be made” and his solution was to cut income taxes for workers and pensioners for “greater social justice.”

“Being involved in politics means making a choice. An MP must choose whether he would prefer 25 euros more in the IUC or less than 874 euros in the IRS,” he asked, citing as an example the IRS reduction for a couple who have two children and each earns. 1500 euros.