Dangerous and absurd government attitudes: "Either you agree with our policies or you are against national interests"

António Leitão Ramos (PSD) and Mariana Mortágua (Block) 

were invited to the talkshow 'Face to Face' in SIC Notícias, 

discussing the 'hot topic' of the week: 

the negotiations between the sociaist-marxist-leninist unelected Government

 and Brussels to close new state budget for Portugal.

The Social Democrat was the first to take the floor 

and began by saying that the "unreality" and "recklessness" 

appointed by the European Commission 

concerned "the budgetary strategy" of this new government. 

According to the viewpoint of the PSD on the matter, 

António Leitão Ramos spoke for the party 

and said that the main  "concern" is to know HOW the government 

will "reconcile the recovery of income and economic growth 

with a continued reduction of the deficit ". 

"It's highly questionable," he said, 

explaining that "the government´s numbers 

point to a slowdown in the employment growth, 

a slowdown in the reduction of unemployment rate 

and a slowdown in exports." 

"These are all conflicting accounts" he added.

Mariana Mortágua started by defending of the Executive, 

saying "it is not with wage cuts and pension cuts and tax increases on income 

that fiscal consolidation strategy is achieved." 

"It is assumed in this document 

and the Government says it will comply with the agreement," she added. 

The radical Block deputy, points out that the current document 

"complies with the European rules" 

and that the difficulty in closing the budget 

"is a purely political issue."

"The European Commission has to decide what counts 

or does not count and in the end decide if the budget passes or not. 

And it does so based on two things: 

the importance of the country that presented the budget 

and with the feeling that there can not be room for a budget 

that wants to openly break free from the austerity 

advocated by the European Commission," she added. 

The deputy also said that "the budget risks putting into question 

the European Commission´s authority 

and those in Portugal who supports the Commission and these policies, 

as was the case of the PSD and the CDS of the previous government."

The Social Democrats did not let the criticism go unpunished 

and said the Government is starting to make a "dangerous and reckless exercise". 

"The Executive can not say, 

'or you agree with the government or you´re against the national interest'. 

This is an exercise from the old dictatorship regime, 

where one either had to agree with those in power or if not, 

was regarded as being against the national interest. 

This is dangerous and democratically absurd."