Former Minister and former PSD President expressed these views to journalists before attending Futurália, an event at Parque das Nações in Lisbon.
“I believe that today is a historic day for the Portuguese economy, not only because of the budget surplus. We are witnessing four fabulous indicators,” he asserted.
In addition to the National Institute of Statistics (INE) data showing that the surplus reached 0.7% in 2024, exceeding the Government’s forecast, Marques Mendes highlighted results related to GDP growth, last year’s savings rate, which was the highest in the past 22 years, and the continued decline in public debt.
He then issued a series of warnings about Portugal’s future political landscape post-early legislative elections on May 18: “If we do not continue to maintain stability in the future, these results cannot be consolidated.”
“Either the Portuguese give enough votes to a party to provide stability, or the solution I suggest, in case of minority governments, is very constructive,” he advocated.
Addressing journalists, Marques Mendes emphasized that he does not propose any “Central Bloc” between PSD and PSD, nor does he propose coalitions to the left or right.
“I did not propose a central bloc, I am against the central bloc; I did not propose any coalition, I am against coalitions,” he stressed, before explaining his idea for strengthening governability in Portugal.
“We cannot live in elections year after year, and from my point of view, there are two ways to ensure stability. One is that the Portuguese, in the elections, give strengthened conditions to a party, either center-left or center-right, to govern with stability,” he pointed out.
The other way, according to the former PSD President, is if there is a minority Government, then “the two governing parties [PSD/PS] should commit to not presenting motions of no confidence, motions of confidence, and negotiating the budgets.”
“If you allow me, I think this is a constructive contribution. If there is a better solution than the one I am proposing, I will be the first to applaud,” he added.
