Portugal's communist party has decided that the government should intervene to keep Litográfica do Sul going, even though it is insolvent and unable to find a buyer.
The management of the Vila Real de Santo António printing company announced that it is applying to the court for insolvency protection to safeguard jobs which are ‘important for families and for the local economy.’
The Left Bloc already has tried to get the government to intervene and save the insolvent company and now the Communists have added their support for the workers.
Their questions will be answered by Economy Minister Pires de Lima whose free market DNA will recoil at the thought of government support for an Algarve print company.
The Communist party has questioned the Minister of Economy on what the government makes of the situation at Litográfica do Sul and on the steps that need to be taken to ensure the viability of this company. Lima's responses have every reason to be monosyllabic.
Sadly, Litográfica do Sul is seen as one of the 'flagship companies' of the Vila Real de Santo Antonio council area despite employing only 44 workers, illustrating the lack of industrialisation of the easternmost area and historic inability to attract businesses to settle.
The print company has orders to complete but no moeny to buy materials, hence the management informed workers that they intend to close the company as previous efforts to sell it came to nothing.
"The economic fabric of the municipality of Vila Real de Santo António will further be weakened with the possible closure of Litográfica do Sul, aggravating the already high unemployment rate, one of the highest in the Algarve," say the Communists who were unable to add any good economic reason why this failed company should receive taxpayer support.
The communists talked around the problem with great eloquence, adding that the answer to Vila Real de Santo António’s problems "are not exclusively to be found in the tourism sector, which despite its importance in the regional economy, has not demonstrated the ability to create the jobs needed that pay anything above the minimum wage and suffers from the problem of seasonality that leads to the closure many of the area’s hotel in low season."
Valid observations of course, but no answer to the real question as to why the government at this late stage should get involved in saving small businesses anywhere, let alone in the marginalised Algarve.
