Prime Minister António Costa said this Sunday that the country has “good reasons” to believe in the future and “greater freedom of choice” because it has “fewer budgetary constraints.”
“I am not here to talk to you about the future, but since the topic is “The Future of Portugal”, I feel it is my duty to say why I believe that we have good reasons to be confident in the future and to believe in it. Of course, the future is better than the present, I say this not out of faith or out of voluntaristic optimism,” said António Costa.
The Prime Minister, speaking at the Manuel Antonio da Mota Prize ceremony at Porto’s customs office, also said the country “has greater freedom” after “overcoming decades of fiscal imbalance.”
“Today, the country, fortunately, enjoys greater freedom in its choice regarding the future. The fact that we have overcome decades of fiscal imbalance and today have a situation without the need to raise taxes or cut spending, and we have a balanced budget, is something of the greatest democratic and political significance,” he said.
António Costa emphasized that this freedom will allow the Portuguese to choose the programs they want, but also to “reserve balances for investment in the future, reserve balances for the vicissitudes of the future, use the balance to reduce income and use the balance to increase expenses.”
“This achievement and this degree of freedom give us confidence about our future,” he added.
Among the various “objective reasons” that he said supported confidence in the future, the Prime Minister highlighted the fight against poverty, economic structure, attracting investment and the qualifications of human resources.
António Costa also believes that Portugal can play an important role in the fight against climate change not only with words, but also with actions, providing new forms of energy production and consumption.
“Portugal can face this challenge with confidence,” he said, stressing that there are “good reasons to believe in the future.”
“What future awaits us? We will certainly have the future that the Portuguese have chosen, with the guarantee that today they have more freedom of choice, because today they have fewer budgetary constraints than before, that today they have a more resilient and resilient economy that produces more and better jobs (…), which we start with better conditions in terms of the energy transition and, above all, because today we have human resources that are not only on par with the European average, but also close to the best levels in the European Union,” he added.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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