It was a kind of second round of the debate on reducing the IRS, in which the left’s proposals were approved with Chega and IL abstaining. Now, the PS has managed to see the end of tolls approved on some of the old Scut (free motorways for users), from 2025, with the favorable votes of the left and Chega and against the will of the executive.
The PSD and CDS recommendation to the Government to implement a gradual reduction in these tolls was rejected by PS, Chega and PCP, despite the vote in favor of IL and the abstention of the remaining parties. The PSD also challenged the socialists to lower the proposal to the specialty without a vote, but without success.
Approval was guaranteed since this morning, when Chega announced that it would make the PS proposal viable, which aims to abolish tolls on the A4, A13 and 13-1, A22, A23, A24, A25 and A28 from January 1st of the next year. This, despite the PSD and CDS defending a phased reduction in these ex-Scut (no defined date) and Chega himself having recommended a gradual reduction in two years of all tolls – a proposal that was not voted on because it was replaced outside of the deadline.
The PS initiative, which was attended by IL, has an estimated cost by the Socialists of 157 million euros and by the Government of 180 million in 2025, which should rise to 1.5 million euros by the end of the concession period. .
Along the way, the IL draft resolution to study the costs of exempting tolls on the former Scut, the BE and PCP bills to abolish tolls on the former Scut and transfer the road concession of these motorways to IP – Infrastructures of Portugal and the PAN recommendation for the executive to renegotiate the contracts of public-private partnerships in the road sector.
The debate, marked by the PS, also ended up being a repetition of the discussion about the Government Program, in which the leader of the PSD bench accused the socialists of “hypocrisy” for wanting to abolish tolls on the old Scut now that they are in opposition, when they only decided to reduce it during the previous government. It is an echo of the statements made by the Prime Minister who, last week, recalled the IRS episode to challenge PS and Chega to clarify whether they want to form an “alternative government”.
From the hemicycle, Hugo Soares accused the PS of “squaring the circle” and not only considered that the vote on the proposals was the “test of nine” to find out whether the parties “want to be opposition or a blockade of governance”, but accused the PS and Chega of being in “collusion” to “govern through Parliament”.
After the session, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs accused the PS of “budgetary irresponsibility” and of wanting to “block and undermine the action” of the executive in conjunction with Chega, once again challenging the parties to come forward if they want to “join together in governance from the country”. In view of this episode, in addition to that of the IRS, Pedro Duarte also sought to ensure that the executive remains “committed to implementing the Government Program”.
The leader of the PS, Pedro Nuno Santos, in turn, defended that he is “fulfilling his work with a sense of responsibility”, as he is not going beyond the electoral program or the macroeconomic scenario, even arguing that “the PS in opposition is managing to do more than the PSD in the Government”. And he refused any “understanding with Chega”, pointing out that the PS will not stop presenting proposals “because a certain party also agrees”.
The same did the leader of Chega, André Ventura, who considered that the Government was “defeated”, but retorted that “abolishing tolls is not a blocking force”, rather than “democracy”.
PS justifies change of position with “new program”
Also during the debate, the parties had to defend themselves against accusations of “incongruity” coming from the right: to the PS for wanting “today what they said was impossible six months ago” or no longer being concerned with “balanced public accounts” and to Chega for saying that he wants to “overthrow socialism” and then “vote mostly on the side of the PS and the extreme left”, as Paulo Núncio, from the CDS, pointed out.
For the PS, Jorge Botelho argued that, after the “progressive reduction” of 65% in toll prices compared to 2011, set in motion by the PS governments, it is necessary to “reduce the remaining 35%” to increase “income” and “competitiveness”. And he refused any inconsistency for having voted against the end of tolls in the SCUT in the past, arguing that, during the António Costa governments, the PS defended the reduction of tolls in the former Scut, while in the current program it defends their abolition.
“There is a new time, a new program”, said the deputy, arguing that the PS proposal is about “fulfillment” of this program and that it has a “more than acceptable value to accommodate in the State Budget” for 2025.
From Chega’s bench, Pedro Pinto countered that Chega follows the PS’s measure because it has “no negative coalition”, only “with the Portuguese people”.
BE and PCP were aligned in criticizing PSD and CDS for never having voted in favor of ending tolls to “protect the interests of concessionaires” and Chega for not having had the “courage” to present a bill and wanting to “deceive the populations”.
For Livre, Rui Tavares questioned why the PSD and CDS only made recommendations “from a budgetary point of view” and, for PAN, Inês de Sousa Real, defended the renegotiation of public-private partnerships in order to reduce State burdens and channel resources towards public transport.
