In politics, there are always two ways to respond to controversies: either disappearing from the spotlight, letting the dust settle, or kicking the ball forward, announcing measures over criticism. The Minister for Labor, Solidarity and Social Security (MTSSS) opted for the duplicate, changing her style along the way. The controversy in which he became involved in the drama at Reguengos de Monsaraz’s home shrank his smile and put a nervous tone in his voice, especially because he felt that on this subject, the “injustice” of criticism is greater. Ana Mendes Godinho appeared this week to build her own defense: she presented support measures to homes, signed commitments and responded to the attacks, at a time when no one had yet shown support, even in the PS. António Costa held her twice this year, when she was most attacked. Now you have to pass the political test of winter.
In recent months, the Social Security machine has come under great pressure. It has been flawed, it has responded, it has been defended. The exceptional moment of the pandemic led to the creation of new social benefits, the resizing of other support and the need to streamline a computer system that was used to another less dynamic reality. The approximately one million lay-off requests, in addition to the recovery support measure, were just some of the measures that put MTSSS in check.
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