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Portuguese gov't plan to cut pensions sparks backlash

Xinhua, May 26, 2015 Adjust font size:

Portugal's Finance Minister Maria Luis Alburquerque's announcement over the weekend that the country will have to make further cuts in pensions has sparked backlash among local politicians.

"It is necessary to do something about pensions to guarantee the sustainability of social security," Albuquerque said on Saturday night.

Former minister of Social Security Antonio Bagao Felix reacted to the finance minister's remarks on Monday by pointing out in daily newspaper Publico that the government "blamed pensions for almost all the evils of public finances," despite 85 per cent of pensioners being "extremely low."

Socialist leader Antonio Costa said on Sunday that the Socialist Party was "working rigorously to construct an alternative which firmly rejects any cuts in pensions in payment and which aims to ensure the sustainability of social security by diversifying all the funding sources."

Communist Party leader Jeronimo de Sousa said the coalition was continuing a path of "exploitation, impoverishment and decline."

The Portuguese government insists it is necessary to make "savings" of 600 million euros in 2016 as the debt-laden country attempts to reach the deficit targets set under its 78-billion-euro bailout program, which was successfully completed last year.

Portugal's Minister for Solidarity, Employment and Security Pedro Mota Saores clarified on Monday that "any alteration" in the social security system would be debated under "broad political consensus" with the Socialist party. Endit