September 23 () –
Portugal’s Prime Minister Luis Montenegro and opposition leader Pedro Nuno Santos will meet on Friday to discuss the 2025 budget, after the government accused the Socialists of “recurring unavailability” for the meeting and the Socialist Party (PS) questioned this version.
The meeting between the two is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on September 27, according to government sources consulted by the Lusa news agency on Sunday evening.
This information comes shortly after an exchange of accusations between the Executive and the opposition. The former has stated that he has been trying to schedule a meeting with the leader of the PS since September 4. The meeting was scheduled for the 18th, but Nuno Santos “cancelled this meeting.”
“The PS Secretary General only announced that he would be available from the 27th, 23 days after the Prime Minister’s request,” reads a statement, noting that Montenegro has offered to meet on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday, when he will travel to New York to participate in the UN General Assembly.
In this regard, the Government has assured that it “has recorded with full democratic respect the hesitations and changes of position of the Socialist Party”, urging to avoid “sources of tension and useless exchanges of words”, although it has stressed that “the approval of the budget is in the national interest”.
“This explanation is intended to put an end to speculation and to adequately clarify for the Portuguese people who are wondering about the impasse in the dialogue between the Government and the main opposition party, hoping that it will be overcome as soon as possible,” he concluded.
The Socialists, for their part, have denied these accusations, stating that the meeting was cancelled by the Government after they demanded that it be made public before it took place, and have maintained that it is a “provocation” that is “incomprehensible and unacceptable.”
“The PS is not willing to continue fuelling these childish and sterile debates on agenda management (…), when the Portuguese struggle daily with serious problems that remain unresolved. This is what an adult and responsible government should focus on at this time,” he criticised.
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