Parts of southern Europe really do exist in a different dimension. In salary terms, Portugal’s year has two extra months. Most employees get their monthly salary or wage, and extra payments in the summer and at Christmas. The government wanted to remove one of the two bonus payments as part of austerity measures to meet the terms of its €78bn bailout agreed in 2011. But the constitutional court has struck down the move, and three others. The ruling could derail Portugal’s ability to return to the financial markets. If the government is smart, it will use the setback to get more serious about structural reform.
南歐部分國家確實存在不同的情況。從薪資的角度來看，葡萄牙的一年多出了兩個月。多數員工每月得到薪水，并在夏季和圣誕節獲得額外薪資。作為緊縮舉措的一部分，葡萄牙政府希望取消這兩筆額外獎金之一，以滿足2011年商定的780億歐元紓困協議的條款。但該國憲法法院否決了此舉以及其他3項措施。這一裁決可能會讓葡萄牙喪失回歸金融市場的能力。如果葡萄牙政府聰明的話，它會利用此次挫折更嚴肅地對待結構性改革。