“I have been retired since 2011, I was a teacher and I am here as a retiree to send a message to Dr. Montenegro, and the message I want to send is this: – I am not reconciled with the PSD nor with Dr. Montenegro,” declared Maria do Rosário Gama during a PS rally in Castelo Branco, attended by the Socialist Secretary-General, Pedro Nuno Santos.
On World Social Security Day, which is being observed today, the president of the APRe! questioned the retirees present at the Castelo Branco cinema theater if “anyone is reconciled, raise your hand.”
“No one. Retirees are not reconciled with Dr. Luís Montenegro. Why? Retirees cannot forget that there was a deputy in the Assembly of the Republic who labeled them as a grey pest; no one likes to be called a pest. And Dr. Luís Montenegro, who was the parliamentary leader at the time, probably even found the ‘grey pest’ amusing because he never distanced himself from it,” stated Maria do Rosário Gama.
The APRe! leader further warned that “what lies ahead could be very bleak.”
“On the anniversary of the PSD, Dr. Passos Coelho said that reforms were necessary (…) Everyone here, who is older, knows that Dr. Passos Coelho’s reforms mean cuts in pensions, cuts in allowances, and we must be prepared for this clash. I hope not. That it doesn’t come to that. It’s enough that the country is entering a recession, and we’ll see where they will make cuts,” she argued.
