The Government announced this Thursday that it detected "worrying situations" in the public accounts, contradicting the idea that the previous executive wanted to convey. The announcement was made after the Council of Ministers.

"The previous Government tried to give the country the idea that the public accounts were doing quite well. This is not the reality we are faced with", said the Minister of Finance, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento.

Earlier, the Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, had indicated that the Council of Ministers analysed the public accounts and detected "worrying situations".

"In addition to a huge deterioration in public services, we have a much more demanding budgetary situation than the previous Government had declared to the Portuguese", added the Minister of Finance.

Miranda Sarmento says that there are decisions that "have no budgetary basis".

Meanwhile, the PSD has already said that it wants to call "urgently" to Parliament the former Minister of Finance, Fernando Medina, so that he can justify what the PSD says was "irresponsible and negligent" spending, recorded after the legislative elections. "I hope he accepts", said Hugo Soares.

Deficit reached around 600 million euros in March

The Minister of Finance estimated the deficit recorded up to the end of the first quarter of this year at around 600 million euros and accused the previous Government of having increased spending after the last legislative elections.

"The budgetary situation is much worse than the previous Government had announced", declared Joaquim Miranda Sarmento at the end of the Council of Ministers meeting, saying that to the 300 million euros of deficit recorded in the last budget execution summary, another 300 million euros must be added as a result of the increase in debts to suppliers.

According to the Minister of Finance, some of the increases in spending occurred after the early legislative elections on 10 March.

[News updated at 12:46 p.m.]

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