“Our priority (of the Government) is not to prohibit dismissals, it is to support the maintenance of employment”, explained the head of the Government in the interview to the daily.
The Prime Minister explained that the “excessive rigidity can mean killing many more jobs than those that will be sacrificed to keep the company running”.
In the case of companies, Costa continues, you cannot “kill the sick with a cure” and the “reasonable” – a word that the leader of the socialist executive uses a lot during the interview – is “not allowing companies to abuse “the economic crisis arising from the pandemic” to make redundancies that they would not otherwise do”.
However, it is necessary to “let the automatic stabilizers of the economy function with control”.Stop funding from the Resolution Fund
António Costa was also adamant about financing the Resolution Fund with taxpayers’ money next year.
“The question is whether there is taxpayers’ money to finance the FdR: there is no”, Stressed the Prime Minister.
Asked why there was no agreement between the Government and BE on this matter, Costa replied that this question has to be asked of the blockers, since the Government has done “what was reasonable”.
“Unfortunately, some countries have banks that need support mechanisms in the FdR, as is the case with Novo Banco. Then there is a contract that like any other must be fulfilled“, He stressed, adding that what is expected” of a State is that it fulfills and honors its obligations “.
The PS general secretary also added that “It is reasonable” to say that, “in this context, this year the State will not finance” the Resolution Fund and that “it was in attention” to the Left Bloc and “to respond to a position” of the party that the Government adopted “this position”.
“If someone is reasonably at a negotiating table, the statement that we prevented the State from financing the FdR is a political statement and a very relevant political gain,” he said.Caution in Budget Negotiations
Regarding the negotiations with the political partners, the Prime Minister said that the Government’s stance in the last five years was that of “not doing them in the public square”.
“I would not like to continue negotiations with BE through the Public channel”, Added Costa, clarifying that the executive is still making an“ effort to get closer ”and until there is a global final vote on the State Budget proposal for 2021 (OE2021) there is“ time to try to overcome divergences ”.
Yet, “the limit is common sense and what is reasonable”.
Asked if the difficulty in approving the budget for next year is a sign that the Government is politically worn out, Costa rejected this hypothesis and considered that “there is a huge difference between what the political-media ball is and what is really the will and popular sentiment”.
The head of the government exemplified this idea with the surveys, which demonstrate that “there is no such desire for change, nor this wear and tear”.
António Costa also said that he has not yet found “someone who saw” reasons for BE not to make the OE2021 proposal viable.
On the inclusion in the honor committee of the current president of Sport Lisboa e Benfica and re-running for office, Luís Filipe Vieira, – from which Costa was excluded, however, by Vieira – the Prime Minister said, from the point of view of his conscience, “I shouldn’t refuse, at that moment and under that circumstance”.
Covid Stayaway application a necessity
Regarding the evolution of the pandemic in the country, mandatory application for smartphone Stayaway Covid does not please the socialist, however, Costa considers it a necessity.
“If you ask me if it is a measure that I like? No, I don’t like the measurement. And the idea of mandatory application? No, I don’t like the measurement either. If at this moment I think it is necessary? I think so”, He stressed.
With Christmas approaching, at a time when the number of cases has already exceeded two thousand new daily contagions several times, Costa did not rule out the possibility, as happened at Easter, of banning people from “the municipality” to “be able to go to land ”.
The executive’s leader also stated that the way he replaced adviser judge Vitor Caldeira may not have been “erratic”, however, “it was certainly wrong because it was not well communicated”.
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