Socialist Party leadership candidate Pedro Nuno Santos said this Sunday that the PSD wants to “liberalize, privatize and deregulate” the welfare state, and accused Luis Montenegro of “impudence” in the promises he made to pensioners.
At a lunch meeting in Guimarães, Braga district, Pedro Nuno Santos acknowledged that the welfare state needs to be reformed, but stressed that the PS “does not want to carry out the reforms that they [PSD] want to do it.”
“We do not have the same vision of the reform concept as they do. When they talk about structural reforms, it only means that they are talking about liberalization, privatization, deregulation. This is their project, they have always transferred part of our social state to the market,” he said.
Regarding the PSD leader’s recent promise to increase pensions, Pedro Nuno Santos spoke of “shamelessness.”
“The SDP must promise to go against its political practices,” he said, emphasizing that pensioners are “citizens who [os sociais-democratas] they were mistreated the most.”
In his speech, the candidate also said he wanted to work to ensure that “the National Health Service makes the use of private health insurance unnecessary.”
“We are acutely aware that parts of our population are increasingly using private health insurance, have less confidence in the NHS and are increasingly using private health insurance. We must ensure that the NHS makes this resource unnecessary,” he said.
He even said that one of his “greatest goals” is to ensure the NHS “fulfills its role” in creating freedom and security.
Citing the example of the location of Lisbon’s new airport, which has been under discussion for half a century, Pedro Nuno Santos said action was needed because “Portugal cannot systematically put off its sleep.”
“As they say, done is better than perfect,” he said, emphasizing that “there are no ideal solutions.”
Pedro Nuno Santos rejected the label of radical, calling himself simply “frontal” and a man of “conviction.”
“Everything I told you is not radical, not moderate, but socialist. In Portugal, radicalism is confused with conviction. I have convictions here, and I speak out frontally,” he emphasized.
Elections for the leadership of the PS will be held on December 15 and 16.
In addition to Pedro Nuno Santos, the race also includes José Luis Carneiro and Daniel Adriano.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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