More than half AD programme comes from PS Socialists’ electoral pledges
In what has been seen as an example of the “dialogue” Portugal’s new government means to have with all parties in parliament, the AD executive’s programme has taken something from the electoral campaigns of every single party with a seat in parliament.
Of the 60 measures under debate over the next two days are no less than 32 that came from PS Socialists (covering the sectors of transports, energy, forests, housing, mobility, health and defence).
There are 13 measures from the electoral programme of CHEGA (focused on tourism, defence, the conclusion of the selection process for Lisbon’s new airport, and the TGV highspeed rail network); six from Iniciativa Liberal, three from LIVRE, three from Bloco de Esquerda, two from PAN and one from PCP communists (who presented a motion of rejection of the programme long before it was presented…)
The idea is that ‘there is something for everyone’ in this programme that needs to pass if the government is to be able to roll-up its sleeves and ‘get to work’ (as it has said time and again it must, and ‘can’t wait’ to do so).
But the reality is that the smallest left-wing parties are ‘sulking’: their only focus is on blocking AD as much as possible, bearing in mind that it has no working majority.
As such, Bloco de Esquerda started today presented ‘a motion of rejection’ of the AD blueprint for its four-years in power.
PS Socialists have said through parliamentary leader Alexandra Leitão that they will be abstaining from any and all motions of rejection.
If AD has set out to ‘fracture’ the left, the plan seems to be working.
Here is a summary of the key measures, which have started coming under debate this morning:
Prime minister Luís Montenegro began the day announcing one of the most populist intentions: reduction of personal (IRS) income tax up to the 8th bracket – with focus on alleviating the tax burden on the middle class. This is just one of the tax measures that was part of the AD programme that includes reductions in corporate income tax too, aimed at ensuring “effective taxation of profits at a rate of 15%, as well as the gradual elimination of the progressive State surcharge and municipal surcharge” (which loss of revenue for municipalities to be made up by compensatory measures in the State budget). The government also plans to exempt performance bonuses from contributions and taxes up to the equivalent of a monthly salary.
Performance pay supplement in the civil service
Here the plan is to create individual career plans for public sector workers, as well as a performance pay supplement / variable bonuses based on merit.
Quick decision on new airport
The AD document presented to parliament on reiterates the commitment to a rapid decision on the location of Lisbon’s new airport and the start of its construction as soon as possible.
Increase the elderly supplement to € 820 euros by 2028
This is one of the solutions proposed to combat poverty in Portugal (remember it has proved almost impossible to lift one in five citizens from the risk of poverty for decades). AD proposes to increase the Solidarity Supplement for the Elderly (CSI) to a reference value of €820 by 2028. The intention is to bring it “into line with the national minimum wage in the following legislature, and to improve access to social benefits so that those who really need them can benefit from them,” reads the programme.
Teachers’ service time to be recovered over five years
This is one of the last government’s major ‘struggles’ as it refused to countenance recovery of six years, six months and 23 days effectively stolen from teachers by previous administrations. AD proposes to resolve this conflict that has caused the loss of so many days in the classroom (due to teachers’ strikes) by repaying teachers, slowly, over five years (counting 20% of the six years, six months and 23 days each year).
Revisiting labour changes of the Decent Work Agenda
The government also intends to “revisit” the labour changes approved under the last government’s Decent Work Agenda, stating that “one year after the entry into force of (this agenda), it is necessary to evaluate the results of this first year of implementation on the ground, namely in Social Dialogue and with all the partners“.
Labour changes in this agenda came into force on May 1 2023, without agreement from Social partners (meaning employers) and after a controversial ‘marathon’ of votes in parliament.
Concentrating on economic justice and the valuation of careers
The government promises to push ahead with a reform of the justice system, focusing on so-called “economic justice” and enhancing the careers of magistrates, court clerks and prison guards.
“Justice needs solid reform and not haphazard changes,” says the document, arguing that reform must be democratic, “generating a broad political and social consensus so that it can be implemented with solidity and have effective results”.
The overall intention is to achieve an economic justice system that works quickly, effectively and transparently, as this is “essential for guaranteeing the confidence of citizens, investors and economic agents, as well as to prevent and combat corruption, fraud and tax evasion“, especially as Portugal faces several problems, such as “the length and complexity of proceedings, the lack of human and material resources, insufficiency of alternative means of resolving disputes, unequal access to justice and the lack of transparency and accountability”.
Extending anti-corruption rules to political parties and criminalising illicit enrichment
This is a measure getting down to the ‘real brass tacks’ that past administrations have forever kicked into the long grass: the PSD-CDS executive wants to extend anti-corruption rules to political parties and criminalise illicit enrichment, implementing an “ambitious, swift and ideally consensual agenda” to combat corruption.
The document, which describes corruption as “a serious problem that affects the quality of democracy, the efficiency of public management, the fair distribution of resources and the trust of citizens”, identifies prevention, repression and education as the three pillars of action in this area.
At the preventive level, the executive wants to extend anti-corruption rules to parties, “including risk prevention plans and codes of conduct” and regulate lobbying – with the creation of a compulsory Transparency Register common to public entities, publicly accessible free of charge.
Priority review of PSP/ GNR careers
The plan here is to develop a process to “dignify careers” and “professionally and remuneratively enhance” police officers “as a matter of priority”. But the programme does NOT ADDRESS the real bugbear that has seen so many police protests in recent months of increasing the risk allowance in line with the increase awarded to PJ judicial police by the last government last year.
The document also states that the government wants to “start a process to recover the attractiveness of security careers, namely through the aforementioned pay review“.
Timely GP appointments for everyone by 2025
For the beleaguered health sector, the government’s programme plans to ensure that citizens receive “timely general and family medicine consultations by the end of 2025″ (something that essentially hasn’t happened for years) and that everyone has a family doctor, starting with the most vulnerable.These measures are part of the SNS Emergency Plan that the executive intends to present in 60 days’ time, which will aim to guarantee an urgent response in the area of maternal and child health, in primary health care and hospitals.
Reformulation of SNS Executive Directorate and Local Health Units
Another super contentious measure, in that it was PS Socialists that ‘created’ the SNS Executive Directorate, presenting it as a second management tier that would set about efficiently solving the problems of the State health sector. Detractors always said it would simply be another slot for ‘jobs for the boys’. And, in truth, the problems with the State health sector have simply magnified. Thus the new government says it want to “reformulate the competences and organisational structure of the Executive Directorate (DE-SNS), simplifying it, as well as the model of the Local Health Units (ULS), especially in university hospitals”.
The executive also intends to change the organic structure of the DE-SNS and its functional competences, with a view to “less verticalised governance that is better suited to the complexity of health responses”.
This change is also aimed at better “articulation between care networks and contractualisation and financing models, infrastructures, human resources and digital transformation in health”.
What this really all means will ‘come out in the wash’ which is already heating up dramatically: as we write up the government’s blueprint for Portugal’s future, the debate in parliament has already descended into an accusatory slanging match, with PS Socialists referring to what it calls the government’s ‘arrogance’.
Housing – five pillars
The housing policy will be based on five pillars, with the first focusing on increasing supply (private, public and cooperative), under which a programme of public-private partnerships is proposed for “large-scale construction and rehabilitation of both general housing and student accommodation”.
The second is based on the realisation that it is necessary to promote “stability and confidence” in the rental market and includes measures such as “reviewing and speeding up mechanisms for the rapid resolution of disputes in the event of non-compliance with contracts”.
Thirdly, the government is maintaining support for “vulnerable tenants”, realising that “it takes time to increase the supply of private and public housing”.
The fourth pillar is made up of support for young people to buy their first home, through tax exemption and a public guarantee to make it possible for banks to give 100% mortgages.
The final main focus is on repealing the “wrong measures” of the last government’s controversial Mais Habitação (More Housing) programme. These ‘wrong measures’ included a number of penalising changes to AL (Alojamento Local) – thus investors/ property owners could end up having a great deal to celebrate (see article to come). Again, everything is dependent on this programme being approved in parliament.
Supplementary pension schemes
The government argues that among measures to be studied in the context of social security sustainability should be an incentive to save, through complementary retirement schemes. This legislature should be “dedicated to studying” the challenges and responses to Social Security, stressing that the debate should be “as broad as possible“.
Immigration: no to ‘wide open doors’; yes to quotas
The government is considering limiting access to residence permits for immigrants with work visas or looking for work and introducing “quantitative targets” for ‘welcoming foreigners’.
The aim is to “adopt the principle that we are a country with doors open to immigration, but not wide open, materialised in quantitative objectives for immigration, weighing up the dimension of security, prioritising in terms of qualifications and avoiding exploitation by illegal and criminal networks“.
“Resizing the prison network”; community service instead of imprisonment
Luís Montenegro’s new government pledges to “resize the network of prisons and social reintegration teams and to strengthen the provision of community service as an alternative to prison”.
This philosophy extends to electronic surveillance teams and “promoting the differentiation and individualisation of intervention in prisons”.
Correcting the Statute for Cultural Professionals
AD has pledged to “correct” the Statute for Cultural Professionals, in force since 2022 and bitterly contested by the sector.
“Correcting the Statute for Cultural Professionals, with a view to improving and dignifying it” is one of the measures presented in the programme of the XXIV Constitutional Government to achieve the objectives it has set for the area of Culture, including “valuing professionals in the field”, says the document.
The above is just a ‘fly past’ of the key measures contained in AD’s four-year programme – a mandate very few imagine this new executive will last long enough to carry out.
As AD’s measures have started being presented, the ‘mood’ in the parliamentary building is dire. Far from deliverying ‘something for everyone’, the ideas seem to be going down like lead balloons: PS is as ‘bitterly disappointed’ as it has been since the parliamentary defeat, CHEGA not in the least mollified by the ‘adoption’ of some of its measures: leader André Ventura has ‘vowed again’ this morning to ‘bring down the government’. Initiative Liberal is saying the programme is “a disillusion” and it is already well known how BE/ PCP feel. LIVRE and PAN have not been any more encouraging.
With voting set for the end of the day tomorrow, we can but wait.
