The leader of Iniciativa Liberal, Mariana Leitão, stated on Saturday, August 29, that the middle class is "under attack" and has become "invisible" to the governing class, accusing PS and PSD of having "abandoned" it because it "stopped mattering at the ballot box" as before. The speech took place in Quarteira, at the event marking the party's 'rentrée'.
For Mariana Leitão, "where there are votes, there are promises," but where "there are fewer votes, there is contempt," and currently "no one speaks" nor "seriously defends" the middle class, despite it being this class that creates wealth and makes the country develop. The liberal leader also criticized the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, accusing him of having promised to lower taxes, work, and reform the state, health, and housing, but of having failed to deliver.
In her speech, Mariana Leitão presented three measures for the party: simplify and lower income tax, end bureaucracy, and advocate for a pension system reform that allows young people to have options, save, and be in control of their future through a capitalization system. The IL president rejected accusations that the party wants to privatize Social Security, guaranteeing that the pension remains guaranteed to all who worked an entire lifetime.
Mariana Leitão also criticized Chega, PS, and PSD for the way they handle the issue of pensions and extraordinary payments, stating that "no one wants to solve the problem, but everyone has learned to live off it."
