The PS secretary-general stated on Monday that the party is willing to support the State Budget (OE) for 2025. However, he emphasized that for this to happen, the Government must be prepared to make some concessions. He also assured that the PS will not be the reason for a lack of a budget.

Concessions Required for Viability

Pedro Nuno Santos said:

“We are available to make a PSD State Budget viable. Obviously this implies concessions on the part of the Government. We will say where we want these concessions to be made.”

Santos deferred further details until his scheduled meeting with Prime Minister Luís Montenegro this Friday. He also chose not to disclose the concessions he expects from the Executive.

Clarifying Negotiation Intentions

The PS secretary-general explained to journalists during a visit to the fire-affected areas in Oliveira de Azeméis:

“It is not correct, from the point of view of good faith in negotiations, to be publicly announcing the proposals that we are going to present to the Government.”

Still, Pedro Nuno Santos made a point of making it clear that it is not because of the PS that there will be no budget. He stressed that:

“There will only be no budget if the Government does not want it and there will only be early elections if the Government or the President of the Republic want it.”

Denial of Accusations

These statements come a day after Prime Minister Luís Montenegro said he had been trying to schedule a meeting with PS secretary-general Pedro Nuno Santos about the State Budget since September 4. The Prime Minister also referred to Santos’ recurrent unavailability.

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In a statement, the socialists denied the accusation. He said that the Executive had canceled a meeting scheduled for last week after the PS requested advance public notice of the meeting.

However, after this exchange of accusations, a meeting between Pedro Nuno Santos and Luís Montenegro was set for Friday, September 27, at 3:00 pm.

Aiming for Constructive Dialogue

This Monday, the socialist leader stated that he did not want to fuel this controversy or contribute to the childish provocation that the Government made yesterday [Sunday]. Pedro Nuno Santos emphasized that the PS has always been available to negotiate.

He added,

“In fact, the meeting scheduled for Friday is on a date we had already proposed.”

Pedro Nuno Santos highlighted that the Government decided to confirm the meeting right after sending a statement complaining about the PS’s unavailability. He also mentioned that the Prime Minister’s statement shows a lack of willingness to negotiate and create a positive negotiating environment.

Pedro Nuno Santos expressed that he deeply regrets the statement issued on Sunday by the Prime Minister’s office. He clarified that the PS only sent a statement to defend itself and restore the truth. That was its sole purpose.

He clarified that it is not true that the PS has backed down from a meeting held last week. He stressed:

“The Government did not want any prior notice of this meeting to be given and, for us, it is essential that any meeting that takes place between the PS delegations and the Government, between the PS Secretary General and the Prime Minister, is made public in advance. It is very important so that we do not have to hear from political opponents that the PS and the Government are holding secret meetings. There are not, and cannot be, secret meetings.”