Iniciativa Liberal criticises proposed sovereign wealth fund

Portugal’s Iniciativa Liberal (IL) party has criticised the government’s plan to create a sovereign wealth fund to invest in strategic sectors, warning that greater State involvement in businesses risks repeating past mistakes.

Speaking to journalists after the PSD National Congress in Anadia, IL parliamentary leader Mário Amorim Lopes urged the government to press ahead with labour market reforms despite opposition from left-wing parties and Chega.

“The message we leave is that, when reform is blocked by the left and Chega, IL will continue to present measures that improve the lives of Portuguese people,” he said.

Amorim Lopes called on the PSD to maintain its “reformist momentum” and not allow what he described as “blocking forces” to prevent change.

However, he expressed strong opposition to Prime Minister Luís Montenegro’s announcement that the government intends to establish a sovereign wealth fund to acquire stakes in companies considered strategically important.

“At that precise moment, I confess I wondered whether I was listening to Pedro Nuno Santos or Luís Montenegro,” Amorim Lopes said, referring to the former Socialist Party leader.

“The idea of the State as a shareholder has already been tried. We are still paying for it,” he added, pointing to the government’s ongoing efforts to resolve issues surrounding the partial renationalisation and planned reprivatisation of national airline TAP.

Montenegro unveiled the proposal during the closing speech of the PSD congress, describing the fund as “an instrument of autonomy and State intervention in strategic sectors”.

According to the prime minister, the fund would consolidate existing State shareholdings and allow future investments in areas such as energy, banking, telecommunications and airport infrastructure.

Montenegro said the fund would serve as both a savings vehicle for future generations and a means of safeguarding national sovereignty, although he did not provide details on its size, financing model or implementation timetable.

Source: ECO/Lusa

Inês Lopes

Newspaper editor at The Portugal Resident