If the government had followed another strategy in compliance with the austerity program, Portugal would like Greece, where it comes to humanitarian crisis, said on Saturday, Pedro Passos Coelho, president of the PSD and Prime Minister.

“We can not but note that it was precisely the political case that followed the strategy that our opponents argued that it can not even close the foreign aid or close the economic and social crisis and that political crisis in political crisis, appears dramatically ask for help and to speak in humanitarian crisis, “said Pedro Passos Coelho, referring to the case of Greece, at the end of the PSD / Azores Congress, in Ribeira Grande.

For Passos Coelho, the Greek situation gives “a good lead” the state in which it would Portugal if the government had given attention to who repeatedly over the past three years, condemned the executive for insisting on meeting the memorandum of the troika. The prime minister predicted that it would be impossible to do or where to be done, according to Passos Coelho, would ruin the country. The prime minister criticized so who defended who defended other means such as debt restructuring, renegotiation of the agreement with the troika or a request for “more time and more money.”

Reacting to criticism that the leader of the PS, António Costa, had made the statements of the Minister of Finance, Maria Luís Albuquerque, the Prime Minister said:. “Now some people get offended because the Finance Minister said that we had the full coffers They should be offended to know that when we got here [to the government] the coffers were empty, there was not a penny there. At that time yes, where are they? They think that is an insult to the Portuguese who are unemployed say they have filled the coffers. What meant for the Portuguese all these years have empty coffers? It cost much unemployment, a lot of hard measure. ”

Passos Coelho stressed that the sacrifices were not ordered to the Portuguese “to save the banks.” And stressed: “My Government, the Government of PSD, not nationalized any banks (…), we can ensure financial stability lending money to banks Money, largely already returned and with such high interest rates. who have no desire to return to order it. ”

BES, “a hammer”
The Prime Minister considered the case of BES, which appeared already after the end of the troika adjustment program and “all that effort,” was a “a hammer on top of our head,” that “again cast doubt on the stability “of the Portuguese financial system.

Referring to the inquiry committee set up in parliament because of the failure of BES, Passos Coelho said he will soon be known to “detail the story that explains it all,” but said that “not conclude for sure [the Members] that BES needed to be resolved because of government action. ” To add: “And surely not have any government official to explain the commission of inquiry that we had to use billions of euros of taxpayers to pay debts of private groups.”

The President of the PSD stressed that the financial system “is essential” to the economy of any country, its “stability must be preserved” and who “makes mistakes in this field must be called to account.” And assured: “What we want is that the financial system can be at the service of good projects, good companies, export, we need to increase, and not the interests of shareholders when they want to hide their accounts or their responsibilities. ”

In a speech 50 minutes Passos Coelho stressed that want to win elections this year talking about the 2015 country, not as you found it in 2011, stressing that has a “course”, passing for continuing to correct the “very strong imbalances” who remain in the country, financial and social terms.

Whereas the Portuguese know what he has done and intends to do, said that is why I do not feel the need to state a date to present their electoral program.

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