The 23rd National Congress of the PS is over. Was it just another one like the previous ones? Not really: unlike what happened in 2018 and 2016, single list for the National Commission and during the two days of work, congressmen did not express critical criticism of the line pursued by the party or government.

After analyzing the interventions, none of the leaders of the first or second line rejected the option of maintaining a dialogue on the left of the PS to approve budgets, or challenged the programs that served as the basis for the executive in the fight against covid-19. pandemic.

Therefore, Antonio Costa did not hesitate in the chosen words – positive – for his closing speech… The Prime Minister and General Secretary of the PS claimed that this is a party of “peace of mind”, united and mobilized to solve the problems of economic and social recovery of the country.

As expected, for two days there was not the slightest hint of the question of António Costa’s succession as PS leadership – but four potential candidates were featured prominently on the Congress table, namely:

• Pedro Nuno Santoswho came and went in silence;
• Mariana Vieira da Silvawho presented traffic leader;
• Ana Catarina Mendeswho remembered the former president of the republic Jorge Sampaio and sent a few barbs to BE;
• Fernando Medinawho gave his campaign speech for September 26 elections in the municipality of Lisbon.

The PS Congress also gave us a surprise: the importance that the party leadership attaches to the Minister of Health, Marta Temido, which joined in and was presented by the socialist leadership as a kind of symbol of the successful fight against the pandemic. And remember also that she said you never know about Secretary General…

On the other hand, Antonio Costa also left several messages – the first was addressed to President of the Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa: he wished him “the greatest success in this new presidential term” and expressed the hope that he “will retain the characteristics that the Portuguese so valued in his first term, and that they so expressively voted for the extension of the new term of the President of the Republic ”.

With regard to the partners to the left of the PS, taking advantage of the presence of Jorge Costa (BE) and Vasco Cardoso (PCP) in the front row of the guests of the Congress, the Socialist leader said: “It is with particular pleasure that I see here two of the most important interlocutors – demanding, but also more productive. with which we have achieved good results for the country and for the Portuguese. “

But back to the final presentation, which dealt with the problems of young people going through “social wounds” in the area. Let’s see what Antonio Costa said:

• “It is very important for companies to understand that this younger generation, being more skilled, is – and has the right to be – more demanding in terms of working conditions”;

• “In the Regressar program, we are going to extend it until 2023, ensuring that all young people who return to Portugal will only be taxed at 50% of their salary”;

• As for the IRS Jovem, this will be expanded to “also cover income from work independently. And we’re going to extend it from three to five years with a 30% income exemption in the first two years20. % of income in the third and fourth years and 10% of income in the fifth year “;

• Increase of scholarships for master’s degree announced;

• Antonio Costa called for collective mobilization to fight child poverty, announcing that if children are “in extreme poverty,” in the next two years they will start receiving support that “will reach 100 euros” (they currently receive between 41 and 50 Euro). ;

• On fertility policy issues, the PS Secretary General also anticipated some of the incentives his leader intends to provide, such as increasing tax deductions for all families from second child to six;

• As for children over six years old, the government will increase the allowance from 27 to 31 euros, “so that no one has less than 50 euros a month.”

However, if there was no criticism inside Congress, then outside it they appeared from the side various parties – even if interspersed with some positive comments:

• PSD: David Justino believed today that the notorious “restrained peace” reigns in the Socialist Congress instead of the inner “peace of mind” that Antonio Costa spoke about, regretting that they did not talk about economic growth;

• TO BE: Despite the fact that he “announced a number of important measures”, Jorge Costa stresses that the party “wants to see how they will be reflected or not in the text of the state budget”, which the government will present to the Assembly of the Republic. ;

• PCP: Vasco Cardoso says he has not heard Costa’s answers to “very serious problems” in the country, as “many of them already existed before the pandemic”;

• CDS-PP: Pedro Melo considered that the closing speech of Antonio Costa was “marked by political propaganda” and the vision of the country presented by the prime minister was “not true”;

• THE: The party criticized the “tragic speech” of the prime minister for his failure to “reverse the policy that is holding Portugal back” and accused him of mixing PS and state;

• PAN: Christina Rodriguez, who is in talks with the government on the state budget for 2022, said she saw “important commitments” in the speech of the PS Secretary General;

• He arrives: For the party, the PS congress ended inappropriate, accusing Antonio Costa of limiting himself to “returning the used propaganda slogans”.