IL accuses government of ‘announcing much but managing little’

Liberal Initiative parliamentary leader Mariana Leitán accused the government of “announcing a lot but managing little”, regretting the “very little” implementation of the intentions announced by the executive since taking office.

Speaking to the Lusa news agency as part of the State of the Nation debate scheduled for Wednesday, the Liberal MP stressed that the current chief executive, “like the previous government”, has made many statements and “very little implementation”, making it difficult to assess the government’s performance.

“You have to manage, not just announce, and we think the government is announcing a lot but managing little, at least that’s what we’ve seen in recent months, and we expect that obviously the government will start managing more, regardless of what you announce,” the Liberal parliamentary leader defended.

Liberals also claimed that the country was “little different from what it was before,” stressing that “in some areas” the situation was even getting worse, especially in the area of ​​health care.

“The government presented a plan that is clearly insufficient. Healthcare is an area that needs concrete and effective reforms, and this has not happened at all. The plan presented by the government is essentially a solution aimed at trying to overcome some gaps, but which obviously will not change the current situation in which the Portuguese cannot access health services in a timely manner,” the IL deputy defended himself.

Mariana Leitan said IL would continue to press the Government to deliver “necessary reforms” to the health sector, stressing the need to work with the private and social sectors to respond to the problems of the NHS.

As for the Liberals’ priorities for the coming months, the MP stressed that, in addition to proposals on healthcare, the party will continue to push for tax cuts so that people have “more opportunities for a better life.”

The party will also unveil a package of measures in September aimed at independent workers and professionals, who they say will “ultimately be severely penalised for having this structure”.

“We want them not only to be on par with others in terms of rights, but also to have some tax benefits,” he added.

A state of the nation debate is scheduled for Wednesday, the first since the SDP/CDU-PP minority leader took office, with Prime Minister Luis Montenegro and the rest of the government taking part.