Portuguese opposition accuses government of gaining over €1 billion from fuel price increases

Socialist Party accusations on fuel revenue

The Socialist Party (PS) parliamentary leader, Eurico Brilhante Dias, accused the coalition government of the Democratic Alliance (AD) of collecting surplus revenue from rising fuel prices. Brilhante Dias stated that the state treasury gathered more than 1 billion euros in revenue from fuel increases since 2024. According to figures he cited from the General State Accounts of 2024 and 2025, gasoline prices rose by 0.06 euros per liter and diesel increased by 0.09 euros per liter since the AD coalition took office in March 2024. Brilhante Dias argued that consumers would pay less for fuel under a Socialist administration because previous relief mechanisms were weakened. He detailed that reductions in the tax on petroleum and energy products (ISP), the carbon tax, and value-added tax implemented under past PS governments were cut back by the current executive.

The government of the AD, of the PSD and the CDS is in part living at the expense of taxpayers and at the expense of fuel increases.

Response from the Social Democratic leadership

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) political return event in Ponte de Lima, PSD secretary-general Hugo Soares rejected the claims. Soares accused PS leader José Luís Carneiro of living in the past and being accustomed to practices under former prime minister António Costa. According to Soares, Costa's government took time to react to rising costs and gathered substantial revenue from price inflation without enacting adequate compensation for citizens. Soares claimed that the opposition leader was either unprepared or pretending the country remained under previous governance patterns. He added that he would extend the courtesy of assuming the PS secretary-general was not intentionally lying to the public.

Either Mr. José Luís Carneiro continues to think that he is still living in the time of Mr. António Costa's government, or he is unprepared.

Opposition legislative push and price forecasts

The verbal exchange follows parliamentary action initiated by PS secretary-general José Luís Carneiro earlier in the week. On Friday, Carneiro accused the government of profiting from energy costs after delivering a legislative proposal on Thursday to reduce value-added tax on fuel and food products. The political clash takes place as consumer organizations predict further price rises at the pump. According to estimates by the Automóvel Club de Portugal (ACP), fuel prices are expected to rise again in the coming week if market trends continue. ACP projected that diesel prices will increase by 15 cents per liter and gasoline will climb by 12 cents per liter.

Censure motion and sovereign debt rating

The controversy over energy taxation unfolds as the government prepares to face a parliamentary motion of censure scheduled for Tuesday. Hugo Soares stated that the censure motion submitted by the Chega party is completely misplaced and serves only to position Chega at the center of national political debate. The PSD secretary-general contrasted the political dispute with recent economic assessments, citing a credit rating agency decision that upgraded Portugal's sovereign debt rating to A+. Soares pointed out that Portugal had not held this debt rating level for approximately 25 years, arguing that national circumstances reflect broader fiscal stability despite opposition criticism.