Lagos, Faro, Portugal, June 9, 2025 (Lusa) - The country’s president on Monday separated the economic and preventive plan of the governor of the Bank of Portugal (BdP), Mário Centeno, from the social responsibilities of those who govern “and have to act” taking advantage of the budgetary leeway.

This distinction was made by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in statements to journalists in Lagos, in the district of Faro, during a visit to an exhibition of the military resources and capabilities of the Portuguese Armed Forces - a programme included in the celebrations of the Day of Portugal (10th June).

Asked about recent warnings issued by the BdP governor on issues such as the pace of spending growth in Portugal and the country’s expected return to budget deficits, the head of state maintained that this institution always acts in a “preventive” manner.

The Bank of Portugal “has long been very critical, even of the governments of [Socialist] Prime Minister António Costa, for example with regard to health spending and other such expenditure. And saying that social spending was reaching a limit”.

The country’s president then made a point of emphasising that Mário Centeno and prime minister, Luís Montenegro, have different roles and responsibilities, since “the governor’s job is to prevent and the prime minister’s job is to decide and do better”.

According to Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, although Mário Centeno’s point of view is understandable, “as long as care is taken not to upset the balance of the accounts, the situation in health and housing must also be understood”.

“One thing is the economic and financial view, which must be anticipated. Another thing is that those who govern cannot say that we will not make these investments in social terms when there is still a margin, some leeway in terms of the state accounts,” said the country’s president.

Speaking to journalists, the head of state denied that there was any open disagreement between Mário Centeno and Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, countering that he believed that “both are right”, even though they are talking about “different things”.

The governor of the Bank of Portugal is right when he says that what is happening in the world is not positive and creates uncertainty. In times of unpredictability, people do not consume, they save and do not invest, they wait,” said the country’s president.

According to Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, this situation of unpredictability in the global economy was reflected in the first quarter, “shortly after the inauguration” of US President Donald Trump.

"Consumption has fallen, investment has decreased, and, as is evident, people are waiting to see if there will be tariffs, if there won’t be tariffs, if it will be tomorrow, in two, three or four months. This is affecting all economies and affected Portugal in the first weeks of March - and we must be aware of this, because if it continues, it could affect the rest of the year,” he warned, while seeking to interpret the meaning of the most recent intervention by the governor of the Bank of Portugal.

However, according to the head of state, the prime minister must also be understood when he argues that Portugal, in this situation, “has tried to resist as best it can”.

“Firstly, because we had a good budget balance last year, when the administration was not yet [Donald] Trump’s, but [Joe] Biden’s. Secondly, because tourism recovered quickly,” argued Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

Also according to the country’s president, some national exports “have held up” and “Germany is rising a little”.

“Thirdly, we have investments, we can take the RRP (Recovery and Resilience Plan) and invest more and better, linking the economy to the funds. It shouldn’t be one minister dealing with the funds and another minister dealing with the economy. Let’s see if this speeds things up,” he commented.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa also referred to the Bank of Portugal’s forecasts for the country’s growth to conclude: “This means that if this were the case, Portugal would be able to withstand this international balance and would try to find a way to achieve internal equilibrium”.

PMF/AYLS // AYLS

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