The IL president said this Thursday that his party wants to contribute to the next state budget, but the Liberals will vote against it if the proposal is “very close” to those presented by previous PS leaders.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting with the management of the Sintra-based pharmaceutical company Tecnimede, the leader of the Liberal Initiative, Rui Rocha, assured that the party’s voting direction on the 2025 budget law “remains open” and that the party is not making “any drama” out of it.
Rui Rocha acknowledged that the 2025 state budget (OE2025) “will never be the budget of a liberal country”, as the party “would like”, but that IL will try to contribute both with “more structural measures” and also with “more punctual, less ambitious measures that could somehow contribute to improving this budget”.
IL, said Rui Rocha, will present at the meeting this Friday with Luis Montenegro the issues of the budget for next year, such as the end of the progressivity of the IRC and municipal allowances, as well as the exemption from autonomous taxation.
Despite the opening, the Liberal leader warned the government of Luis Montenegro that it could not count on positive votes from the IL College if the text of the budget did not differ from that presented by the Socialist leaders.
“If we come to the conclusion that this is a document very close to what Fernando Medina would have presented, for example, if he had continued in his duties, we will lose this viability,” Rui Rocha emphasized.
The IL president also criticized Čega and the PS for the fact that, unlike the liberals, “they are very focused on the budget drama” and not on the country’s problems.
“There are other parties, which we saw yesterday in the discussion, which are afraid of the budget because it could lead to elections if it is not approved, and they are afraid to go to the elections. I am talking specifically about Čega. I see disorientation on the part of PS and I see fear of the elections on the part of Čega,” he said.
Prime Minister Luis Montenegro will receive on Friday from all parties with seats in parliament “the state budget for 2025”.
According to the press release, the meetings will take place at the Prime Minister’s official residence in São Bento and will start at 10:00 with PAN, followed by Livre, PCP, BE, IL, Chega, PS and finally a joint meeting with PSD and SDS-PP at 18:30.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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