Pundit insists government legally and morally obliged to assist vulnerable families

The largesse announced last week by prime minister António Costa was “not a favour of the government but the most elementary act of justice” television pundit Luís Marques Mendes insisted in his regular slot on SIC evening news last night. The revenue in tax taken from citizens this year has been ‘off the scale’, he said; a great deal more than the government anticipated in its 2022 budget. Thus any political capital attempted should be balanced against this, he said. The Bank of Portugal meantime has suggested the country’s most vulnerable will need even more help before the inflationary spiral is over.