The leader of the opposition Social Democrats (PSD) said on Thursday that Portugal's growing debt levels were unsustainable and promised an "enormous fight" on public spending if elected this month.
Manuela Ferreira Leite, a former finance minister for the Portuguese centre-right PSD, told a conference the key to boosting growth in western Europe's poorest country was to cut public spending and stimulate private sector investment.
Her speech laid out what are likely to become the main battle lines before the Sept. 27 general election between the ruling Socialists' pledge to launch huge infrastructure projects and the PSD's drive to cut spending.
"The country is extremely indebted, we are at a debt level that is unsustainable," she said. "That is why I support a Titanic fight against the infrastructure projects."
Ferreira Leite, who has been described as the "Iron Lady" of Portuguese politics, said cutting taxes in the short-term was not feasible because of the deep recession but promised to do everything possible to make that possible in the future.
Portugal's growth has lagged behind European partners in recent years and the economy is seen contracting 3.4 percent in 2009. Prime Minister Jose Socrates' Socialists edged ahead to 34.5 percent support in an opinion poll this week against the PSD's 28.9 percent backing.
The Socialists promise that large infrastructure projects, including a high-speed TGV rail-link to Spain and a new airport for Lisbon, are key to hauling the Portuguese economy out of its worst recession in decades due to the global economic crisis.
While Ferreira Leite's promises of deep spending cuts in Portugal's bloated public sector is unpopular with civil servants, her focus on debt rings true with many Portuguese who remember that their country was the first to breach EU budget deficit rules after the introduction of the euro.
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