Prime Minister Luis Montenegro and PCP Secretary General Paulo Raimundo openly disagreed this Wednesday on issues such as possible regulation of lobbying activities or the economic policy of raising wages.
In the first two-week debate in Parliament after the European elections on June 9, Paulo Raimundo accused the government of inaction in the face of bank profits, rising food prices, a housing crisis and high interest rates.
The PKP secretary general further referred to the PSD, which, together with other parties, believes that corruption can be fought by “legalizing influence trading,” that is, by regulating lobbying, “while at the same time turning a blind eye to tax havens and the economic crime that constituted privatization ANA (Airports of Portugal)”.
Faced with Paulo Raimundo’s hint about possible regulation of lobbying activities as part of the anti-corruption package measures, the leader of the executive branch noted that this measure had high political support in parliament and completely departed from the position adopted by the PKP secretary general.
“By regulating lobbying, we want the exact opposite of the hypothetical legalization of influence trading. We want to regulate relations between sectors of activity that protect specific interests with public authorities, in order to guarantee transparency and the absence of falsification of public interests,” objected.
In response to questions from Paulo Raimundo about inflation and abuses of dominance in various sectors of the national economy, the Prime Minister replied that his government “does not allow anyone to abuse their position” but “protects financial institutions with sufficient thoroughness.”
“It’s true that we want agricultural producers to be valued more, but we don’t want to impose prices. This is a path that the PKP may want to pursue, but it is not part of the government’s philosophy,” he said.
The PCP Secretary General noted that the Prime Minister claims that “he cannot interfere with prices, bank commissions or banking business.”
“But when it was necessary to shovel 16 billion euros from taxpayers into the banking hole, then the state was able to intervene,” he emphasized, before defending the thesis that labor productivity had risen above wages, an indicator that reflects the main problem – income distribution.
“Is the government ready to raise the salaries of civil servants and set the minimum wage at 1,000 euros?” the communist leader asked.
Montenegro said “increasing the value of public administration professionals is the government’s goal” and cited “difficulties in recruiting” and retaining human resources in public services, pointing to labor agreements its government has already signed with teachers and judicial officials.
Regarding the demand of the PKP Secretary General for an increase in salaries, the Prime Minister began with a humorous reaction.
“Ask me if I can increase the minimum wage to a thousand euros and increase the salaries of all civil servants. Yes, I am available, but I want to ask you: how much will you lend me for this?”
The Prime Minister went on to say that his government “cannot solve all the problems at once”, pointing to challenges in the areas of health, education, housing, as well as challenges to stimulate economic growth.
“We must do all this. The deputy knows that we do not have objective conditions for taking these measures, especially when we cannot neglect social policy. We have increased the solidarity supplement for the elderly by 50 euros and guaranteed a 100% contribution to medicines intended for the poorest segments of the population,” he stressed.
On public administration, the Prime Minister referred to recent measures aimed at preventing the perpetuation of the transitional regimes in place since the Covid-19 pandemic in the provision of services to citizens.
“From now on, all government services will be carried out in person. And there will be a mandatory priority route for citizens who only need to submit documents,” he added.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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