During a press conference at the party headquarters in Lisbon, the day a report emerged that the Executive Directorate of the SNS instructed hospitals to cut costs even at the expense of slowing down consultations and surgeries, André Ventura argued that healthcare is an area “where disinvestment should not occur,” calling for consensus to prevent such measures.
“I believe this goes beyond politics and party struggles. The government needs to show openness. There must be openness from the three main parties for a budgetary consensus that ensures, even if we need to redo the entire budget, that there will be no disinvestment in healthcare,” he urged.
Ventura stated that this idea is “consensual from the left to the right,” except among liberals, and reducing health investment would be “a major mistake” with consequences.
The Chega leader argued that failing to reach this agreement would be among “the most serious signals the government could give,” as it would indicate an even greater collapse in healthcare next year.
“This is very, very serious for a prime minister who stated that health was one of his priorities,” he remarked.
As he has done on other occasions, Chega’s president reiterated that Health Minister Ana Paula Martins “is not fit” to continue in the government, citing governance errors that “hinder, destroy, and deprioritize health in favor of other areas.”
André Ventura also found it “strange” that “the party which yesterday supported the health budget is today advocating for Ana Paula Martins’ departure from the executive.”
“It somewhat shows the Socialist Party in disarray. Yesterday they approved the budget, today they say the government must change,” he added.
