“This is a policy of social justice that is considered, we are within our predictions, and it will not compromise the health of public finances,” responded the Prime Minister during the bi-weekly debate in the Assembly, addressing CDS parliamentary leader Paulo Núncio.
The Prime Minister assured that this issue is under control, explaining that expenses are rising “because the number of beneficiaries is increasing.”
The government’s objective is to ensure that “those with lower incomes can achieve a higher income,” the Prime Minister stated.
During his intervention, CDS-PP’s parliamentary leader noted a growing sentiment that the Elderly Solidarity Supplement is a significant financial burden on the state, potentially jeopardizing the expected budget surplus for this year. This situation has been used by some to criticize the government’s generosity towards pensioners.
“Since the government expanded and reinforced this program, the Elderly Solidarity Supplement is now reaching 230,000 pensioners, 100,000 more than during the PS governments,” Paulo Núncio stated, adding that “for CDS, this money is well spent.”
The centrist deputy defended that “spending more on the most needy pensioners means the measure is successful, contrary to what critics suggest.”
On Monday, the Public Finance Council indicated that the changes to the Elderly Solidarity Supplement have a significant budgetary impact, potentially exceeding this year’s forecast by 42%, reaching 1.093 billion euros by 2029.
In his intervention, Paulo Núncio also questioned the Prime Minister about the “fictional country, the country of forecasts by [Bank of Portugal Governor] Mário Centeno” and the “real country, the one reflected in the national accounts published yesterday by INE.”
Paulo Núncio provided several examples of lower forecasts and considered that the former governor “was completely mistaken,” having “erred in forecasts and estimates, predicting pessimistic scenarios that never materialized.”
“Fortunately, the real country is much better than the one imagined by Mário Centeno. But, Mr. Prime Minister, how do you explain these significant differences? Is it bad luck? Incompetence? Or just a lack of independence from the Bank of Portugal’s governor?” he asked.
In response, the Prime Minister noted that forecasts are not results and stated that “the country benefits by focusing on results,” which “are good.”
Luís Montenegro stated that the government is “on the verge of surpassing negative forecasts in 2025” and estimated continued outperformance in the following years.
“Clearly, a slightly more negative outlook transforms good results into even better ones, because they are not only good but exceed negative expectations. Therefore, from this perspective, I can only thank everyone who has highlighted this negativity and lack of confidence, because ultimately, we are talking about a lack of confidence, and we are witnessing that no one trusts Portugal, its workers, and businesses more than the government,” he argued.
