Portugal’s president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, greeted today’s economic figures with good cheer but said we need to “grow a little more” to reduce the country’s debt.
Economic growth data released by the National Statistics Institute showed "a positive trajectory" but the elephant in the room remains the overall indebtedness.
"I would say that it is a positive trajectory, which is still not enough for the great objective that the Minister of Finance spoke about yesterday, that we can achieve a clear reduction of our public debt. We have to grow a little more," declared Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
The head of state was speaking to journalists at the end of a visit to the Association for the Protection of Diabetics of Portugal in Lisbon, observing that the data shows that "the trajectory continues", but gives some mixed signals.
"With respect to the previous quarter, there is a positive sign, because it had grown 0.3%, now it is growing 0.5%. In relation to the previous year, where there had been a very big growth, as you remember, at the growth continues to be good, 2.5%," said the president.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa added: "We want more, I want more. Let's see if more is possible, because it also depends a little on the growth of Europe and growth on a world scale."