Prime Minister Luis Montenegro will answer MPs for the first time this Wednesday in a two-week debate, about a month after he was in parliament to discuss the government’s program.
Luis Montenegro, who was the parliamentary leader of the PSD for six years, now returns as prime minister for the fortnightly debate, a day after the government approved and announced the location of Lisbon’s future airport at Campo de Tiro. de Alcochete (Setubal).
On Tuesday, in addition to deciding on the location and name of the new Lisbon airport, which will be called Luis de Camões, the government also approved the definition of a work plan for the current Humberto Delgado Airport, completing studies for a third airport. Tagus crossing and high speed rail links between Lisbon and Madrid.
Last week the Executive also announced a new housing strategy, including 30 supply and rental measures, which will also include the repeal of previous Executive measures such as “forced renting” and other measures it believes penalize local housing. .
The government has also pledged to speedily approve measures promised to young people in the form of government guarantees providing bank finance for the entire first home, as well as IMT and stamp duty relief.
During the debate, Montenegro should also highlight the Council of Ministers’ approval last week of increasing the basic value of the Solidarity Supplement for Senior Citizens (CSI) by 50 euros from June, as well as the abolition of child income. as an exclusion factor from this benefit.
At the same time, the Council of Ministers approved the provision of free prescription drugs to approximately 145 thousand CSI beneficiaries.
During the debate, the accusations made by the Minister of Finance Joaquim Miranda Sarmento could also be referred to the previous government that it increased spending already after the legislative elections (the estimate of the deficit recorded until March was approximately 600 million euros) and that the budget situation will be “much worse” than expected.
In response, former finance minister Fernando Medina refused to argue that Portugal was a fiscal problem and accused the current portfolio holder of “technical incompetence” or, alternatively, “political lies”.
In Brussels on Monday, Eurogroup President Pascal Donohoe and European Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni praised the “very stable and good state” of Portugal’s finances and said they were not worried about the state of the accounts. national government agencies.
Other topics present in the debate could be the dismissal of the Ombudsman of Santa Casa da Misericordia, Ana Jorge, for which the government accused him of political sanitation, or the national director of the PSP in his first month in office. ongoing negotiations between the government, teachers and security forces.
The PSD and SDS-PP formed a minority government after early legislative elections on March 10, led by Luís Montenegro and consisting of 17 ministers, who took office on April 2, and 41 secretaries of state.
The executive power is supported by 80 deputies – 78 from the SDP and 2 from the SDS-NP – out of 230, in a parliament in which the PS has 78 seats, Chega – 50, the Liberal Initiative – eight, BU – five, PKP – four. There are also four Livres, and only one PAN.