Pedro Passos Coelho alerted Prime Minister Luís Montenegro that the government's time to carry out structural reforms is running out. The warning comes in a preface he wrote for the book "Portugal na Paz dos Bloqueios," by Pedro Gomes Sanches, to be presented in October. The former prime minister argues that Portugal remains trapped by obstacles that limit growth and competitiveness, and that the three remaining legislative years should not be wasted.
Passos Coelho notes that available time has been reduced by governments' electoral fragility and scarce parliamentary support. He points to priority areas for reform as Social Security financing, increasing productivity, competitiveness, health, education, housing, and state reform.
A study coordinated by Passos Coelho, former deputy Sérgio Sousa Pinto, and the president of the Porto Commercial Association, Nuno Botelho, concluded that low productivity is the main barrier to Portuguese economic growth. The study "Bloqueios versus Reformas: uma visão para Portugal" (Barriers versus Reforms: a vision for Portugal) identified barriers in human capital, investment and innovation, business scale, savings and financing, as well as in the functioning of the State. Since 1999, the Portuguese economy has grown on average only 1.1% per year, one of the worst performances in the European Union.
Prime Minister Montenegro reacted to the alert during the inauguration of a school in Setúbal, refusing to comment directly on the warning. "No one changes the school, no one changes the municipality, no one changes the country with sadness and lamentations," he responded, guaranteeing that the executive will not deviate from its focus on transforming the country.
