Portuguese Presidents acknowledges convincing businesspeople to invest in Portugal was difficult
In the beginning of his mandate, the Portuguese Presidents had troubles convincing business people to invest in Portugal, although that stance has changed.
The President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, stated today during an interview to the Portuguese radio station TSF that in the beginning of his mandate, it was difficult to convince businesspeople — namely foreigners — to invest in Portugal and to trust the country’s stability.
When asked about an ideological preconception because of the current Portuguese government which is supported by the Communist Party (PCP) and the Left Block (BE), Marcelo stated: “In the beginning of my mandate, I did find that preconception. Several international investors and some, not many, national investors had systematic doubts on whether or not Portugal would comply with the European commitments in terms of the balance of public accounts and whether or not Portugal would have political stability”.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa stated it was “a struggle throughout 2016, to have those sectors accept and understand that what was happening was a process that did not correspond to their low and negative expectations“.
The President of the Portuguese Republic believes investors’ fear and stance has changed, although he emphasizes it is “a daily struggle”. “It has changed significantly, but is is something build day-to-day. The problem is that money is held by investors, so they are the ones who have the final say on where they want to invest it”, Marcelo stated.
