If there have to be elections, make them quick

The economy minister said on Friday that if the president decides to dissolve parliament, early legislative elections should take place “as soon as possible” to overcome the negative impact on the economy.

On Wednesday, members of parliament rejected the 2022 budget, and it is now up to president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa to decide on the possible dissolution of parliament and snap elections.

“I would say that the sooner at the beginning of next year the elections can be, the better it is for the Portuguese economy, for all economic agents and, I would say, also for citizens,” Siza Vieira said.

Siza Vieira recalled that “the government is fully functional” and guaranteed that “all available resources” will be used “so that this moment of political disturbance is overcome with the least possible damage to the national economy”.

Asked about achieving the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) targets and whether they will be compromised without a budget, Siza Vieira said that an assessment is being made to ensure that “the pace of application and management of European funds” continues.

“Regardless of the political circumstances and regardless of the president’s decisions, and whatever the Portuguese may be called upon to do, it is essential that each of us does our job, does our role so that we do not harm the country in what is the use of these resources,” he stressed.

The economy minister recalled that there is still a budget until the end of this year. Therefore, it was “important” that parliament concludes some matters before it is dissolved, highlighting as the most pressing the review of the Insolvency and Company Recovery Code.

“The problem that arises is then in the first quarter of next year, where we cannot waste time, we no longer have a budget, so the sooner we have elections, the better to help us meet this objective [of executing European funds],” he added.