With government ministers set to debate the 2020 State Budget today, finance minister Mário Centeno is up against four ministries, all of which are desperate for more funding.
Health minister Marta Temida is described as “at the head of the line, under the most-pressure because of the degraded situation in the SNS (State health service)”, followed by Education minister Tiago Brandão, Justice Minister Francisca Van Dunem and Minister for Interior Administration Eduardo Cabrita, apparently at something of a loss to work out how to fund pay increases for the security forces.
Explain reports, “the war between ministries and Mário Centeno is habitual” – but this time round it’s somehow more polarized.
In parliament yesterday (Tuesday), former PSD finance minister Manuela Ferreira Leite criticised Centeno’s draft document for being ‘make-believe’ and just something ‘for the EU to see’.
She said the time has come for Centeno to resign, because he “certainly can’t keep going as minister for finance for much longer”.
Once today’s meeting is sorted, the parliamentary debate on 2020’s budget proposals will get to parliament, and it’s then that the fireworks will start.
Once the document has been voted on, the budget will have to be approved by Brussels which has already sounded the alert over what it has received so far (click here).
