Structural reform: Portugal takes the hard road

The Portuguese authorities and people are buckling down to structural reform. But putting the economy onto a growth path is a daunting task, especially when that growth needs to come from the country’s uncompetitive exporters.

You know a country is serious about rolling up its sleeves when it declares that it is suspending four public holidays for a five-year period. Portugal’s novel way of securing more time to dig its way out of its economic morass is symbolic rather than substantial. After all, the addition of 20 working days over five years won’t do much to turbo-charge the economic growth the country needs to restore a semblance of order to its public finances.

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