The tedious lack of courage

The opinion article by José Paulo Soares, published on ecoonline.pt, criticizes the lack of courage of Portuguese politicians to face the real problems of the country. The author, who confesses to having admired politics since childhood, laments that parties only worry about the next elections instead of presenting honest diagnoses, concrete action plans, and necessary reforms.

Soares specifically mentions the liberal party, which according to him abandoned its ideas and limited itself to single-person posters. He also criticizes Chega, led by Ventura, for having been at different times "the party of gypsies, of castration" and now wanting to lead a "new PURP," considering that populists are opportunists without serious commitments.

Regarding PS, the author points to the "denialism of sustainability" of pensions and Rio's own leadership, noting that the party shuns reforms and difficult choices. He also mentions that Deputy Carneiro was the only one brave enough to mention Sánchez as an example.

Regarding the PSD/CDS government, Soares considers that in two years the reformist spirit was limited to "one or two ministers," pointing out the absence of reforms in labor law, competition, tax codes, and justice. The "visceral" reaction to the discussion of Social Security demonstrates, according to the author, that no one is willing to bear the political costs of difficult choices, confirming his disillusionment with current Portuguese politics.