Promise “more than doubles pledge by PS Socialists
In what smacks of an inspired political move today, a statement sent out to all news media declares that the government plans to “more than double the public housing supply provided for in the Plan for Recovery and Resilience”, raising the bar to 58,993 homes by 2030.
As Expresso splashes across its front page, this is more than double the amount of public housing promised by PS Socialists.
Coming as the announcement does in the build-up to the ‘will it pass/ won’t it pass’ State Budget, the ‘news’ can do nothing but increase the popularity of Luís Montenegro’s government which is permanently in a battle with opposition parties for convincing soundbites.
“The Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing justifies the increase by saying that the financial allocation included in the Support Programme for Access to Housing’, within the scope of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), did not meet the country’s real housing needs.
“In light of this, the government wants to exceed the 26,000 homes initially planned under the PRR and reach 58,993 homes.
“According to the information provided, the reinforcement will amount to €2.011 billion, totalling an additional investment of €2.8 billion compared to what was planned – and the sum will be financed by the State Budget”.
That last part is the punchline. It will be virtually impossible now for ‘opposition parties’ to bring down the State Budget without looking like the ‘wicked witches’ who turned up uninvited to the party.
natasha.donn@portugalresident.com
