German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble has yet again trashed Portugal’s direction under PS leaders – telling financial website Bloomberg that the country was “going the right way” until the government of António Costa took over late last year.
But his words were given short-shrift by the Socialist leader who said he preferred to listen to “German’s who know Portugal”.
These include Volkswagen, which has “decided to maintain its factory in Portugal and launch a new model in Palmela”; “Bosch, which this year made large investment in investigation with the University of Minho” and “Continental, another large German business which launched a new factory unit in Portugal to produce a new range of tyres for agricultural machines”.
“These are the Germans I take notice of”, Costa said in Lisbon on Thursday. “Germans who know Portugal, invest, produce and create wealth in Portugal.
“As to the others, naturally opinion is free and people follow their own criteria. Personally, I only talk about what I know”, he added, stressing that he “never” talks about other countries, and certainly does not going in for “bias”, as it is “far from inspiring”.
Schauble’s gripes about Portugal’s political direction under the Socialists are well known. Indeed, in June, he had to correct himself for overstepping the mark and suggesting Portugal needed to request a second bailout (click here).
This time round, he told Bloomberg that the new government was basically choosing a very risky path which he would not have chosen himself.
PHOTO: ©Bloomberg/Krisztian Bocsi
