A SUPPLEMENT TO EUROMONEY - MARCH 1997Chasing convergencePortuguese leaders have taken monetary union to heart. Big efforts have been made to fall within Maastricht convergence parameters. But even if the country enters the first round of the single European currency can it sustain the necessary criteria long-term? Jules Stewart examines the dilemmaPlucky little Portugal is today the Club Med country with the best chances of meeting all the Maastricht convergence criteria and hence of joining European Economic and Monetary Union (Emu) in the first round in 1999. The question is: will it? There is certainly no lack of political consensus on the need to meet the Maastricht timetable. The Socialist government led by Antonio Guterres, elected in October 1995, is as firmly committed to market reform as was its Social Democrat predecessor, which held power for 10 years. "Before October 1995 the market was concerned about radical changes that could take place under a Socialist government," says Manuel Pinho, a member of the executive board of Banco Espirito Santo (BES) and former head of Portugal's treasury. "The Socialists have shown they are no less pro-market and pro-convergence than the Social Democrats. |