Portugal: between shade and sun…

We continue our tour of European countries at the start of the year, with today Portugal: an economy between miracle and daily rigor. Decryption with the Portuguese journalist, Ana Navarro Pedro.

How are the countries of the European continent approaching the year 2024? After Spain and Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, here is Portugal and details from the Portuguese journalist, Ana Navarro Pedro.

franceinfo: Lhe Portuguese miracle, somewhere, continues, with a gray area and a sunny side?

Ana Navarro Pedro : Let’s take the sunny side. The socialist government of Mr. Antonio Costa. He is still interim Prime Minister, he resigned in November 2023 with his government, amid suspicions of corruption in the entourage of his ministers. He came to power eight years ago, and in eight years the minimum wage increased by 50% in Portugal, the debt went from 130% of GDP to almost 100%.

This year 2024, it will probably fall below 100% of GDP, a repayment of the debt in advance of several years to Europe – The IMF, international monetary fund, is already paid – so the country is a paradise for start-ups up who come to settle in Portugal, the country has more unicorns today (these start-up companies which make more than a billion euros in turnover) than Greece, the Italy and Spain added together. And all this while maintaining, according to the Prime Minister, “good accounts, that is to say fiscal rigor.

We’re going to move on to the dark side…

The dark side is the one on which the right-wing opposition relies for obviously, it’s fair game, in this electoral campaign for the early elections of March 10, it relies on the two darkest aspects, is health and education.

As you know, in France and in Europe, quite identical problems: lack of investment, bed closures, not enough staff in the hospital, same problem for the school, not enough teachers, sometimes security problems too, much lower than in France. Problems which are very badly experienced by the Portuguese, education, because it is the future of children, families, and the country, and health, it is obviously our daily life.

HASAnother huge problem, housing in Portugal?

This is really THE black cloud over the heads of young people, especially young people but not only, because it has become so expensive in Portugal to find accommodation. Purchasing is almost inaccessible, renting is almost impossible. And to give you an example, young people who started working life 10 years ago, thinking of starting a family, a house, etc., 10 years later, they still find themselves renting a room from a local, or to share a studio or small apartment with others, because it is impossible for them. And so, there is the whole dream side, family life, which is also put aside.

For example, udoes a room in Lisbon, to rent per month, cost 600 euros?

600 to 800 euros is possible, and the salaries are not those of France either.

For the starsearly elections on March 10, where are we going? There are the conservatives, the left with the Socialist Party, but also the ultras of “Chega”, the extreme right?

Exactly, we notice in these elections, according to the polls, that we are returning to something of a real divide, which is never very pronounced in Portugal, between the left and the right; these two governments are a little more liberal policy with the right, a little more social policy with the left, but we still remain fairly central to the Republic.

For example, the president is right-wing and the Prime Minister is socialist…

The president does not govern. Currently, polls indicate that the Socialist Party, which claims Costa’s legacy, is still in the lead. But he cannot have an absolute majority or a significant relative majority, all alone. The Alliance of conservative parties, PSD and CDS, is close behind. And then we actually have the far-right party given 17% of voting intentions.

And obviously, if the right wants to come to power and govern, we will have to make an alliance with it, and a government alliance, not an exclusively parliamentary alliance, as we can make in Portugal…