Montenegro warns: “The country cannot and should not be held hostage by political crises dictated by whims”

Prime Minister Luís Montenegro highlighted this Wednesday the Government's spirit of dialogue, which met with all parties on the preparation of the State Budget for 2026 (OE2026), but recalled that the PSD/CDS Government “has a program and that program is to be executed”, appealing to the opposition's sense of responsibility.

"A program that, having been voted on in this chamber and not rejected, earned the trust of the honorable members to be implemented. This is therefore not a time for partisan, often selfish, political agendas, much less a time for political instability," said the head of government.

That said, “from all parties”, the PSD/CDS Government expects a “sense of responsibility” and “willingness to put national interests and the interests of the Portuguese people ahead of any private interest”.

"The Portuguese people wouldn't understand it any other way, because Portugal must continue to be a beacon of stability. The country cannot and should not be held hostage to political crises dictated by partisan or even personal whims," ​​Montenegro emphasized, emphasizing that the government will maintain "the reformist trajectory and the path of structural transformation in Portugal." He concluded: "With this government, change will continue."

The 2026 State Budget proposal, which the Government is finalizing, will be submitted to Parliament on October 10th and will be voted on in general terms on October 27th, followed by a final vote a month later. Montenegro assured, in his opening remarks, that his Executive

Regarding the 2026 State Budget, which will begin to be discussed in Parliament next month, Luís Montenegro assured that the Government "will do everything possible to guarantee the stability and continued good economic performance of the country."

The Prime Minister also reaffirmed that the government maintains its main economic objectives: "Economic growth in 2025 above the EU average, close to 2%, and a surplus of around 0.3%," as well as "the continuation of a downward trajectory in the public debt ratio."

"Gentlemen, these goals are achievable," he assured, backing this confidence with the data released yesterday by the INE (reporting that the economy grew 2.1% in 2024 and debt fell 3.3 pp and "the surplus exceeded all forecasts, including that of the Government itself").

“The demands are high, as we know, but there is no reason to doubt the capacity of the Portuguese economy,” stressed the Government leader, also highlighting the employment figures (in July 2025, more than 5.2 million people were employed, the highest figure since February 1998) and the unemployment rate (which fell to 5.8% compared to July 2024).

"And even the youth unemployment rate, which remains high and worrying, and which we are focused on reducing, stood at 18.9%, down 2.3 percentage points compared to the same period last year," Montenegro noted.