Prime Minister António Costa said this Wednesday that, despite constitutional restrictions, it is the duty of his government to “leave everything ready” for whoever becomes his successor and to ensure the continuity of the country in the use of public funds and day-to-day management. day.
“Even with the constitutional restrictions that the government will have from next Friday, the country must continue to function. Continuity must be ensured,” the Prime Minister said in Porto at the start of the next edition of Government + Próximo, which will culminate with a meeting of the Council of Ministers on Thursday.
António Costa assured that this continuity is “undeniable” in matters such as the implementation plans for the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), plans for programs such as Portugal 2030, as well as in day-to-day management.
“But it is also the responsibility of this government, even on issues that it cannot solve, to leave everything prepared so that whoever succeeds us can do so in the shortest possible time,” he added.
Among the issues that need to be prepared for the next government, António Costa listed the completion of the public consultation on the new Lisbon airport, as well as the approval of “preventive measures” to consolidate the high-speed line route, which he considered “the priority of priorities.”
“As long as there is no opposition from the leader of the main opposition party and the future leader of the current party in the government, in January we will have technical conditions to launch a competition for the construction of this high-speed line, the final decision of which will be made by the new government,” he said.
António Costa, speaking after the signing of the notification of decentralization in the health sector and the agreement for the transfer of the Palácio de São João Novo to the municipality of Porto, also highlighted the “not always simple” and “very coordinated” process of transferring State powers to the municipalities.
“By the end of this year, we will only get to eight municipalities with which there will be no agreement, because these are municipalities that do not really want to take on responsibilities in this area of health care. Therefore, I can say that we have successfully completed a fundamental component of government reform, through the decentralization of powers of municipalities. This is a path that has not been exhausted (…) I am well aware that, fortunately, we have another path forward, and “, of course, those who follow this path will continue,” he emphasized.
The Prime Minister also noted that this edition of Government+Próximo marks another “important step in decentralization,” namely “the completion of the regionalization possible within the current political framework,” referring to the reform of the regional commissions for coordination and development. (CCDR), which this Wednesday signs its first program contracts with the executive branch.
In a meeting in which the Mayor of Porto praised his work as Mayor of Lisbon and Prime Minister, António Costa highlighted some important milestones for Porto, such as the opening of the pediatric department at the São João Hospital, the rehabilitation of the former Alexandra Herculano High School, the transfer of the Monte Barracks -Pedral Municipality and other projects that, together with the PRR, “allowed us to give new ambitions” in areas such as housing.