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Title: Weekly Press Review by Sagresschool

Lead: Sabado: dia do Sol e do Expresso - Saturday: day for reading Sol and/or Expresso - the two main Portuguese political and economic weeklies. My choice this week is the Expresso.

1 - Government gives banks a sour hour in 2007
Following Jose Socrates' - the Socialist Prime Minister - recent frontal and devastating wars against judges, teachers, pharmaceutical (industry and trade), military, police forces, teachers, public servants, company owners and workers, catholics (with the January repetition of the abortion referendum), pensioners, members of the National Health Service (doctors, nurses and patients), and taxpayers in general, he decided to open a new front - during the parliamentary debate about the 2007 Budget (on last Friday Nov. 10) - this time against banks.
First, to favour bank clients, the Government has ordered banks to adopt the practice of rounding up the Spread tax calculations on loans to the thousandth of an euro, with an additional, heavy, unforeseen and unethical cost. That is: allowing requests for reimbursements, covering past years when clients were eventually overcharged in comparison with this new system for the (introducing the dangerous and unconstitutional retroactivity principle in banking transactions). Does he understand the back office work involved with such a measure? Furthermore, in his parliamentary speech he announced a heavier tax on banks' profit reports in the 2007 Budget.
Bankers are known to keep their comments to adverse political measures in a low key, but this time the reactions were loud and clear! The Press echoed that Government and banks declared war to each other. So the main title of Expresso (edition of Nov 11, 2006) reads:
Bank bosses called as witness to the Typhoon Case (Operacao Furacao). This is an investigation in course covering 200 companies, 20 company owners and six lawyers in alleged illegal offshore transactions engineered by suspect financial wizards to launder money and avoid the payment of millions in taxes. The Spanish authorities are carrying out a similar investigation under the code name Sueter Operation - on which at least three banks may be involved, one of which is also Portuguese.
It is interesting to note: the suspects in these cases are not bankers but company owners and lawyers. What Iberian fiscal and judiciary authorities suspect is that banks may have helped these company owners and lawyers, providing them with offshore contacts and means to evade taxes and launder money from illegal profits and origins. However, the thirsty press published large photos of the main bankers as the next suspects, or the main liable to be indicted, at least in the Portuguese case.
In the Expresso's edition, this matter is repeatedly mentioned in the political, economic and opinion pages. On page 9, editor Fernando Madrinha writes that this increased tax on banks is the Prime Minister's "Minimum Compensation" to his left (communists (PCP) and leftist socialists (BE), as well as to please the left slice inside his own party (which is in congress for this week end, to confirm full support for the government's hard policies), in view of this Budget being what any right wing party would gladly subscribe if it was in power. But in the opposition and according the current political practice, all the remaining parties voted against the socialist Government's Budget for 2007. The outlook in the week's ahead is not easy. For parties, its leaders, and mostly for taxpayers! This Budget is not friendly at all!

2 - ArtLisbon attracts 64 galleries
The Autumn art show of Contemporary Art is open at the Lisbon International Fair (Parque das Nacoes), until Monday Nov. 13, and it was the Expresso's editor choice for the cover's main photo. The cover of the cultural separate section Actual reproduces a painting from Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso - a talented Portuguese painter - and insite writes about the exhibition openning on Nov 14 at the Gulbenkian Foundation, in Lisbon, with his most valuable works, assembled to commemorate his first century of art notoriety. Amadeo was one of the 300 painters selected by the organizers of the International Exhibition of Modern Art (or Armory Show) in New York City. Thus, his works are present in some of the world's best modern art collections.

3 - Local politics at its worst
Pages 6 and 7 are full with quarrels. Socrates and Alberto Joao Jardim - Madeira's regional government chief, about recent cuts in the mainland's financial contributions to Madeira; and Marques Mendes - the right wing social-democrat opposition leader - and President Cavaco, about the constitutional right (or not) for the central government and mainland's funding duty towards Madeira government, ignoring the midterm electoral engagements and public investments? This dispute appeared since the 2007 Budget reduces the 2006 level of revenue to be collected from the mainland.
Other quarrels refer to minor personalities: one at the Lisbon City Council; other among members of Parliament, the Public TV Station (RTP), and the Prime Minister's alleged interference in the daily TV news; also because of an alleged alliance between the right wing party (PP) candidate and the majority Socialist party (PS); and, finally, the personal dislike of writer Miguel Sousa Tavares to the social democrat leader Marques Mendes (PSD). These texts reflect, after all, the strange way in which local politics are based. That is either on personal deslike or unconditional attraction!

4 - Coming soon: the 2nd abortion referendum
Fernando Madrinha also writes a piece about the fracturous subject in Portuguese society. He says there is nothing new since the 1998 first referendum in favour of the yes followers. But there is plenty new in favour of the no. Namely, information wise, medical assistance, family planning in schools and health centres, and also about contraceptives - the next day pill.
The right wing voters say abortion is a crime but they don't want the State to incriminate women who practice it. The left wing says it is a minor crime which should be free of any police ou court intervention. And the taxpayers? What do they think? The Hospitals and the National Health Service are not able to cope with year-long waiting-lists for surgeries, appointments with specialized doctors, and diagnosis' tests, so what happens when thousands of women start coming in with requests for abortions within the 10-week maximum limit foreseen by law? The yes followers reply that much less women will apply for abortion! Without explaining why and how? So far Portuguese females pay for more than 40 thousand abortions per year - alone in Spanish clinics! Some of these clinics are ready to open shop in Portugal! The no followers say that cancer and other undelayable surgeries and treatments will be affected by the next abortion run to public hospitals! The referendum is to take place between January and February 2007.

5 - Conclusion
The Expresso does not have anything printed about Sagres or the Vincentine Coast. But in total, it has 320 pages of good reading for the week end.

POSTED BY HUMBERTO ON SAT. 11 NOV 2006 AT 16:34 (pm)