Portugal's ex-prime minister lacks respect

Portugal's ex-prime minister José Sócrates said at a conference in Paris last weekend that it would be childish for small countries like Portugal and Spain to pay off their debts completely. His comments were dishonourable, the tabloid Correio da Manhã writes angrily: "He later clarified that he hadn't meant it like that: it was simply a childish idea to repay the debts to foreign creditors 'in full and immediately'. But whatever the real intention behind his comments: he played down the importance of countries having debts, repaying them and fulfilling their obligations. With one fell blow he destroyed the basic tenets of international law that are honesty and adhering to promises that have been made. This is doubtless no big deal for someone for whom being prime minister was nothing more than child's play."

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