The Socialist Party (PS) not only chose to support the government but also enabled its policies, which Paulo Raimundo considers a wrong choice. “It is their decision and they are sticking with it,” he stated in Viana do Castelo.
When questioned about the five regime pacts proposed by José Luís Carneiro in his candidacy for the leadership of the PS, the communist leader confessed his lack of detailed knowledge on the matter but noted that the country’s current state results from regime commitments between PSD and PS.
“Nothing happened in our country without a regime commitment from PS and PSD. Even the constitutional revisions,” he emphasized.
Speaking at a public CDU session in the Viana do Castelo waterfront garden, Raimundo expressed no surprise at the reappointment of the Health Minister in the recent governmental reshuffle, asserting that Ana Paula Martins is strictly adhering to the dismantling of the National Health Service (SNS).
“She is following the government’s program, fulfilling the desires of those who wish to commercialize illness. The Health Minister is rigorously executing the directives to dismantle the SNS, transferring activities to the private sector and large economic groups,” he told the participants.
In further statements to journalists, he questioned the establishment of the Ministry of State Reform and Public Administration.
“What is the State modernization for? […] Is it to better address the situations in SNS, housing, and schools? We know not. The State will be reformed to serve the interests of those looking for more resources, advantages, and perks. It is not those on Social Insertion Income counting on this,” he criticized.
Concerning the merger of the Culture, Youth, and Sports portfolios into a single ministry, Raimundo remarked that it “well represents a particular mindset.”
“It reveals the government’s decision to abolish the Ministry of Culture […]. It doesn’t add much to have a Ministry of Culture without a cultural policy for the nation, serving the people and those working in culture. But it is a signal,” he observed, declining to comment on the appointment of lawyer Margarida Balseiro Lopes to the position.
Paulo Raimundo mentioned that despite not having a higher education, he believes he would make “an excellent Minister of Culture.”
