Speaking to The New York Times, the Portuguese prime minister commented that the country is not yet on the bright side of the moon and that there is still much to be done, rather than waiting for someone or something to show you the way.
Liz Alderman, a correspondent for The New York Times looked back at the various measures António Costa has implemented, since taking office in 2015, to reverse the effects of the crisis in Portugal.
Costa has not been frittering and wasting the hours in an offhand way, "What happened in Portugal shows that too much austerity increases the recession and creates a vicious cycle. We have created an alternative plan to austerity, focusing on more growth and more and better jobs," said the PM as quoted in the NYTimes.
Portugal's economic recovery has increased confidence in individuals and in companies. According to Jorge de Melo, the CEO of the Sovena agri-business, "Portugal has benefited greatly after the hard years we have suffered. The scenario is much better than before and this is important for the economy."
However, warns Aldermnan, this success "is still vulnerable" with the Portuguese minimum wage the lowest in the Eurozone, with economic growth slowing down and with social unrest remaining.
"We have not gone from the dark side to the bright side of the moon. There is still a lot to do," said António Costa, shorter of breath and one day closer to death. "But when we started this process, many people said that what we wanted to achieve was impossible. We have shown that there is an alternative."
The alternative is working politically as Costa’s Socialist Party leads voting intentions for the 2019 election with 39% of the vote, up two points in a month.
See: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/22/business/portugal-economy-austerity.html
