If the PSD needs the Liberal Initiative (LI) to form a government, the liberal president has admitted that he is ready for an agreement without having a seat in the executive branch. In an interview with CMTVThis Monday, Rui Rocha said that he has “no honor” to keep the portfolio. Assuming that the Democratic Alliance would “value IL as a viable partner”, he noted that if left with the ministry, he would give preference to Infrastructure.
Committed to a policy of “cutting the fat on government”, the IL leader stressed that “not a single civil servant will be laid off” but he will want to replace every two workers who retire with just one contractor. While cutting costs, he said he has set a goal of reducing the number of ministries to 12, signaling his interest in merging the agriculture portfolio with the economics portfolio.
Regarding TAP, Rui Rocha once again stated that he intends to privatize the airline, stressing that the debt “cannot remain with the state, it will have to remain with the one who buys it.” He also said he wanted to conduct an “audit of the public business sector,” criticizing companies that “don’t know what they’re doing very well.”
Regarding pensions, Rui Rocha left a promise: “We will not take a single cent from pensioners and will comply with annual renewals.” However, he stressed the importance of having a “sustainable system”, including those about to retire and young people who lament being paid only about half of their final salary.
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POLICE AGAINST THE RIGHT TO STRIKE
The IL president criticized Chegi’s proposal for the security forces, which wants to grant the right to strike and party membership. Rui Rocha said that this measure would lead to an increase in crime.
HEALTH SAYS THERE IS WASTE
Rui Rocha argues that there is “a lot of waste and mismanagement” in healthcare and predicts there is no need to increase the sector’s €15 billion budget. It assumes that users can choose between public, private or social.
