Montenegro takes an “oath of honor” to pensioners and pensioners

The SDP president took Sunday as a “pledge of honor” to increase the benchmark value of the Solidarity Supplement for Seniors (CSI), but admitted that a culture of change would not produce results “from one day to the next.” .

In the completely packed Vila Real Municipal Theatre, which seats 500 people, Luis Montenegro responded indirectly to PS leader Pedro Nuno Santos, who reiterated that the proposals of AD (a coalition uniting PSD, CDS-PP and PPM) are an adventure.

“I want to tell you that we are safe change. We are not a gambler and we do not promise what we cannot deliver (…) This will not happen overnight, we will have to introduce a culture of change and ambition. , transformations, but some results will take some time to reach people’s daily lives, but they will appear,” he assured.

The alternative, he argued, would be to “continue to whistle fearlessly and calmly into the air” about the emigration of skilled youth and the decline of low-density areas, as is the case in many municipalities of Vila Real.

In a county with an aging population, Montenegro has committed to repeating AD’s pledge not to cut “under any circumstances a single cent on pensions and reforms.”

“On the contrary, we will update pensions every year in accordance with at least what is in the law, at the level of inflation, and update lower pensions even more,” he said.

Regarding the commitment to increase the CSI benchmark value to 820 euros at the end of this legislative assembly, the PSD leader assured that this is a “commitment of honor.”

“Those who think this is happening, looking back at the difficulties they created and left us, at the obligations they wrote in the memorandum, if they think they are scaring the Portuguese by saying that we will not fulfill the obligation, I have in mind: the SDP is the party that increased pensions from April 25,” he said.

In a speech shorter than usual, Luis Montenegro once again mentioned Cavaco Silva and the 14-month supplement for pensioners and never mentioned Pedro Passos Coelho (in a speech in which the former PSD leader grew up), nor did he explicitly mention ” three” period.

“Even at the beginning of the last decade, it was we who unfrozen the increase in minimum pensions, which was frozen without social sensitivity by the PS,” he said.

The PSD leader never mentioned Pedro Nuno Santos directly, but left him with a few barbs throughout his speech.

“We don’t need those politicians who talk a lot, present many “power points of view”, but leave everything the same. They are so disruptive that in the end they promote things to remain as they are. same thing, we are here to do things differently and make a difference,” he said.

As on other occasions, Montenegro suggested that agriculture would be a strategic focus for the government, which could take the lead following legislative elections on March 10, also linking the sector to better forest fire prevention, and reaffirmed its commitments in areas such as education and healthcare.

“Hope comes with improving health and providing teachers to students who need them,” he said.

The mention of improving women’s lives by reducing inequality drew particular applause from the audience, where chants of “Change, Change” were heard throughout the speech.

The AD caravan started the day this Sunday with a rally in Mirandela, Bragança district, had lunch in Maia (Porto district) and returned to Trás os Montes for a rally in Vila Real, on a rainy day when it will cover more than 600 km, including travel to Lisbon, as Luis Montenegro will take part in a radio debate between party leaders on Monday morning.

In Vila Real, the PSD lost first place in votes and its seat as a PS deputy in the last legislative elections. Of the five elected by this circle, two went to the Social Democrats and three to the Socialists, changing the ratio achieved in 2019 and 2015.