President of the Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has revealed his pessimism over the European and global economy just as the Bank of Portugal has published new data to show the nation’s public debt skyrocketed by 1.7 billion euros from February to March.
According to the central bank, Portugal’s public debt is now fixed at 233 billion euros. This is slightly more than it was a year ago (227,906 billion euros).
The figures came on the day President Marcelo set off to a state visit to Mozambique, admitting to reporters that he felt less optimistic about the national, European and world economy now than he did when he first took office.
Citing the slowing down of the US economy, falling fuel prices and the apparently insoluble problems of Greece, Marcelo added that for now at least he did not foresee a political crisis developing in Portugal, no matter how much Brussels is heard to complain about the new government’s budgetary plans.
