Democratic Socialist Representative Joaquim Miranda Sarmiento on Friday accused the Socialist Party of being the “father of austerity,” referring to 2010 and 2011, with Finance Minister Fernando Medina, citing the PSD’s inability to discuss 2022.
On the second and final morning of the discussion on the government’s proposal for the state budget for 2022, the university professor in charge of the economics and finance chapters of the electoral program of the PSD, Joaquim Miranda Sarmiento, launched a violent attack on the line. Followed by the second executive, led by Jose Socrates, between 2010 and 2011.
Joaquim Miranda Sarmiento noted that at that time, Fernando Medina, the current Minister of Finance, was at that time the Secretary of State to José Socrates, and the current Prime Minister, Antonio Costa, was the second in the Socialist Party.
“First, in May 2010 there was a PEC II (Stability and Convergence Program) with an increase in VAT and IRS and a significant reduction in family allowances; with PEC III, in October 2010, it increased by two points. The normal rate, he added, Value Added Tax VAT has increased and reduced civil servant salaries between 3.5 and 10%.
Finally, in March 2011, “with the famous PEC IV”, which failed in Parliament and led to the downfall of CEO José Socrates, the PS government wanted “a reduction in pensions between 3.5 and 10%, with an increase in the IRS.”
Joaquim Miranda Sarmiento concluded that “in one year, they applied 10 billion euros of austerity. And the end result: they brought the ‘troika’ to Portugal. The father of austerity is the Socialist Party.”
In light of this intervention, the Minister of Finance said that he recorded that the Public Security Directorate “decided to start the discussion of 2010 and 2011, more than a decade ago.”
“There is a reason for that. The PSD wants the 2010 and 2011 debates because Mr. Joaquim Miranda Sarmiento cannot hold the 2022 debate. He can’t hold the 2022 debate because the MP knows, and we all know that a few months ago he was criticizing the government for raising the national minimum wage” Fernando Medina counterattacked.
In his response to the Social Democratic deputy, the Finance Minister considered that Joaquim Miranda Sarmiento appeared “in difficulty” in discussing the budget because he was “responsible for the electoral program of the PSD”.
“A program that has identified income tax reduction as the last priority in terms of tax relief,” he said, recalling one of the themes of the attack by the Socialist Party General Secretary, Antonio Costa, in the election campaign of the People’s Republic of China. Legislative January 30th.
For Fernando Medina, “In view of the prevalence of income tax brackets, the minimum rise [em sede de IRS] As the bonuses increase, he concludes that none of this will happen by the will of the PSD.”
“By the way, I will cast a vote against Joaquim Miranda Sarmiento.”
In this debate, Joachim Miranda Sarmiento and the Council for the Liberal Initiative also clashed with the Minister of Finance regarding economic growth.
The Deputy PSD warned that “in the next four years, Portugal is the second least developed country in the group of member states of cohesion.”
Regarding rapprochement, the Finance Minister chose to accuse “the PSD and the liberal initiative of inventing a new concept”.
He noted that “instead of a real and objective rapprochement, in comparison with the member states that lie ahead, they seek to put the country on an equal footing with the countries behind us,” referring to the comparisons between Portugal and the member states of the Cohesion Group.
Next, Fernando Medina responded with economic growth data released today by Eurostat.
“In terms of the numbers released on Friday, regarding GDP, it appears that the Eurozone grew by 0.4% and Portugal 2.6% – the most growing country.”
“For the percentage for the previous year, we have 5.2% for the eurozone and 11.9% for Portugal,” added the portfolio holder.
Fernando Medina did not use his time to respond to other interventions, such as that of the deputy of the liberal initiative Bernardo Blanco, who criticized the failure to fulfill the executive’s promise to conduct a census of civil servants, in order to know their number, or what qualifications, among other statements.
“How does the government plan to organize the country without having data on that country?” he asked.
PAN spokeswoman, Inês de Sousa Real, called for a value-added tax to be reduced in order to reduce the rate of veterinary medical services, as well as to promote equal pay for men and women and to strengthen support for the reception of victims of domestic violence.