Luís Montenegro, president of the PSD, attacked the Prime Minister and the Government and guarantees that it will be the Social Democrats who “give back the SNS to the people”

The president of the PSD, Luís Montenegro, this Sunday accused the Socialist Party and the Government of being a beneficiary of the private health sector, with the destruction of the National Health System (SNS). At the closing of the PSD Summer University in Castelo de Vide, Montenegro even said that “the best friend of private health in Portugal is Dr António Costa”.

Luís Montenegro also referred to the resignation of the Minister of Health, Marta Temido, underlining the conditions that she left due to lack of load exercise, and criticized António Costa for saying that the Health policy was to be maintained.

“The minister resigned saying that she was unable to continue. What is the Prime Minister’s response? So, if you can’t afford it, you have another week to decide important things that we don’t think you have the means to do. This is an opinion,” she criticized.

“He will change ministers, but the policy is the same. António Costa is already killing the next Minister of Health. The chaos in Health will continue the same. The prime minister lacks the humility to recognize that the project has failed,” he said.

“We are not friends with the private sector, nor with the social sector. We are people’s friends. (…) When the PSD ruled the country, Health was better than it is now. And we had a troika in Portugal. (…) And it will be us again to give people a National Health System that responds to their needs”, he guaranteed.

The PSD president accused António Costa of not being able to give a rumor to the country. “We know we won’t have to tomorrow. Today, the PSD does not need a program to govern the country. It is perceived that it can be great, because the Government has not been able to task. But the one who has to govern the country is the PS,” he said.

The PSD leader also commented on an increase in the inflation rate and on measures that the Government should announce to face the increase in prices, namely fuel and energy. “In the case of energy, António Costa used the excuse that Europe does not invent. At least now, lower the VAT on energy to 6%. Do it now because people need it now”, he challenged.

Montenegro also accused the Government of doing “propaganda” with the increase in pensions, claiming that the problem has been dragging on for months: “António Costa will do what we proposed to him in May.”

On the measures that the Government is preparing to copy the measures that the PSD presented. “Tomorrow we will finally have the announcement of this package of measures from the Government. It comes late, it comes very late and it was not for lack of warning. It was the ability, which the Government had, intentionally, to apply this only in the last three of the measure it criticized.

On Monday, he predicted, will take place “the example of the prime minister’s famous policy, the ‘show-off’ of the ‘power point’”.

“What will happen tomorrow is the government and the government doing what we have been demanding since May. Contrary to what the Government has here, there is no three days difference between what the PSD presented and what the Government will announce, there are months of difference ”, he accused, remembering that since May he has defended a social emergency program.

However, despite the “different outfit”, the PSD leader considered that “the base will be the same companies”, regretting that the Government did not announce support in the discussion either.

“There are conditions for PS to do what they agreed with us in 2014 and download IRC. Dr. António Costa, do not wait another 15 days and do it tomorrow”, he appealed.

Luís Montenegro also asked the Government and the Prime Minister to “once and for all put the house in order”.

“Stop being news for the ‘gaffes’ and permanent mistakes of its members and the prime minister who concentrates on the task of leading the Government. It seems that he is no longer keen to be prime minister, but he is, he has to earn the trust”, he said.