PS accuses government of ‘damaging welfare state’, promises proposals on justice and migration

The PS parliament leader accused the government of taking measures that “harm the welfare state” and interrupting reforms, expecting the Socialists to present proposals on justice and migration from September.

Speaking to Lusa news agency as part of the State of the Nation debate taking place on Wednesday in the Assembly of the Republic, the parliamentary leader of the Socialist Party, Alexandra Leitan, expressed concern about the “various measures taken” by the government, which she considers “clearly damaging to the welfare state”.

“When, from a tax point of view – whether it’s the IRC or the IRS, and this is the IRS proposal under 35 – you want to take away almost three billion euros of tax revenue, we have to ask ourselves how this will affect the social sphere. The state, social benefits, public services, because, let’s face it, miracles do not happen, and so if they take away this huge amount of public revenue, something will be lost,” said Alexandra Leitao.

The Socialist also accused the leader of the SDP/CDU-PP minority of undermining reforms that were carried out “without evaluation, without monitoring.”

“I am thinking, for example, of what has happened in the National Health Service, this huge mess on the part of INEM, the systematic replacement, as a pattern of behavior, of high-ranking public officials, in the cultural sector, in the Camões Institute, in the Agency for the Administration of Social Security. In fact, there is a decapitation of the highest positions in public administration, which can only have politically motivated reasons and this worries us,” he criticized.

The Socialist guaranteed that the PS will continue to present proposals to the Assembly of the Republic and seek its approval, listing proposals that have already received the green light, such as the abolition of tolls on the former SCUT, the extension of VAT on electricity to 6% for 3.4 million families or the expansion of support for student housing.

Answering the question about what the priorities of the socialist bench will be after the parliament breaks for the holidays, Alexandra Leitan listed the areas of justice and migration.

“Because if it is true that we are almost not a government, it is also true that we have obligations to the people who voted for us and to the Portuguese people in general, in areas such as justice and migration. This will attract, as has already been said, our attention, the rule of law needs it, and so from September we will have several proposals,” he said.

The traditional State of the Nation debate is scheduled for this 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.