"On the day we present the final version of the State Reform," Paulo Portas said it was "impossible for the country to have achieved better results than the existing ones."
In a keynote speech today, Portas said it was the government’s duty to not make the same mistakes as had been made in 2011.
According to the Deputy Prime Minister, Portugal could not have obtained better results after three years of rescue operations.
Portas was speaking in Lisbon and portrayed a country on the up; "Portugal achieved the best possible outcome," adding that it is possible to live in Portugal like people live in other EU countries.
"If Portugal had failed, possibly we would have had not only a second bailout but we would have risked our presence in the euro." The best "possible outcome" has been achieved despite unemployment remaining at a "shockingly high level,” currently 15.2% according to figures from the Minister of Finance, Maria Luis Albuquerque.
The cheery optimism of Paulo Portas, destined to incur the intense wrath of the opposition, comes after a “rocky ride” and he said we need to "bear in mind what happened in 2011," the year in which Portugal requested a bailout from the Troika - "No society can go through a rescue of this magnitude without taking lessons from what happened."
Portas remains optimistic despite current investigations into several contra deals with foreign military equipment suppliers that took place when he was Minister for Defence.
Yesterday’s revelations from the former chairman of the contra deals committee - which conveniently was wound up in 2011 - that German companies successfully had ignored many of their financial obligations to Portugal, having supplied items of equipment such as two shiny, new and rather costly submarines, will have made uncomfortable reading for the deputy Prime Minister as allegations of bribery and corruption on his watch will be tested in court sooner rather than later.
See also: http://www.algarvedailynews.com/news/2250-submarines-germans-deceived-the-portuguese-state
