Ministers will meet today to approve the program, after which it will be submitted to the President of the Assembly of the Portuguese Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, for discussion in Parliament between Thursday and Friday.
The Portuguese Government's Program presented to the Assembly of the Republic today. What are the commitments?
Luís Montenegro's government program arrives in Parliament this Wednesday. First, it will be approved by the Council of Ministers, which will meet from 9 a.m. at the Prime Minister's official residence, and only then will the document be handed over, at around 11.45 a.m., to the President of the Assembly of the Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, by the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Pedro Duarte.
For the moment, the content of the Government's electoral program is unknown, but it is known that it will be based on the electoral program of theDemocratic Alliance (AD), which won the parliamentary elections on March 10.
Last week, at the end of the government's first Council of Ministers, the Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, refused to answer whether or not the government's program would present many differences from the electoral program. However, last Saturday, prior to an informal meeting of the entire government in Óbidos, the Prime Minister assured that "campaign commitments will be respected".
It's worth recalling the main commitments of the AD election program in 10 areas:
Health
Present within the first 60 days of the new government an emergency plan for the National Health Service (SNS), to be implemented by the end of 2025, which includes issuing "vouchers" to the private sector when the guaranteed maximum response time (TMRG) for specialist consultations is exceeded, concluding temporary contracts with retired or private family doctors or, in the case of emergency services, a plan to motivate healthcare professionals and redefine the emergency and hospital referral network, among other points.
In his inaugural speech, the Prime Minister stated that this plan would be made public by June 2. Ensuring timely consultations with family doctors, reviewing the Local Health Units (ULS) model and reformulating the SNS Executive Directorate, with "a profound change in its organic structure and functional competencies", are other commitments of this program.
Education
Reclaim in full the teachers' service time that has been frozen gradually over the next five years, at a rate of 20 % per year, a measure that the AD estimates will cost a total of 240 million euros per year between 2025 and 2028.
For teachers, it is also proposed to revise the remuneration system, but also to encourage those who have left the profession to return to teaching, by means of bonus mechanisms for professional reclassification, and the deduction of housing costs for those placed more than 70 km from their place of residence.
Universalizing access to pre-school from the age of 3, integrating cycles 1 and 2 and applying assessment tests to grades 4 and 6 from the 2024-2025 school year are other promises in the electoral program.
Tax measures
Reduce RSI rates up to the 8th income level by 0.5 to three percentage points, compared with the rates in effect in 2023, and require that levels and deduction tables be updated in line with inflation and productivity.
For young people up to the age of 35, with the exception of those with incomes at the bottom rung of the IRS, a reduction of two-thirds of the currently applicable rates is promised, with a maximum rate of 15 %.
Exempting performance bonuses (in an amount equivalent to a monthly salary) from contributions and taxes, or creating a negative tax to benefit low-income families, through a Supplément de Rémunération Solidaire, are other commitments for individual taxpayers.
For companies, the AD election platform promises a reduction in the IRC rate from 21 % to 15 % over three years (at a rate of two percentage points per year).
Wages and pensions
The AD electoral program includes a commitment to raise the national minimum wage to 1,000 euros by the end of the legislature, and to raise the average wage to 1,750 euros "this decade, based on the sum of inflation and productivity gains".
For the elderly, it is planned to increase the reference value of the Complément de Solidarité pour les Personnes Agées (CSI) to 820 euros in 2028, with the aim of equalizing it with the value of the national minimum wage in the following legislature.
This is a commitment repeatedly made during the campaign by Luís Montenegro, who said he would resign as Prime Minister if he had to cut "one cent" from pensions, pledging to update them annually according to the current calculation formula (and, if possible, even beyond the formula for the lowest pensions).
As far as the sustainability of social security is concerned, the program speaks only of "promoting an informed and serene debate, in a context of stability and predictability of rules, contributions and benefits, during the current legislature".
Housing
For young people, the AD is proposing exemption from IMT and stamp duty for house purchases up to the age of 35, and a public guarantee to make bank financing of the full house price viable.
For the rental market, the proposals are to overhaul the Porta 65, award a subsidy to tenants with real needs (based on income and effort levels) and maintain a dynamic rent subsidy for families with high effort levels, without limiting contracts signed until March 2022.
Other measures include easing restrictions on land use, urban density and building requirements, reducing or even abolishing urbanization, construction, use and occupancy taxes, and applying the minimum VAT rate to construction and rehabilitation work and services.
The AD also promises to repeal the "erroneous measures of the More Housing program, including forced rental, rent freezes and measures penalizing local housing", such as the extraordinary contribution planned by the previous government.
Justice and corruption
Create a permanent commission for the reform of the justice system and for a constitutional revision that ensures the inclusion of celerity as one of the responses required by the judicial system and that clarifies the position of the Public Ministry as an autonomous magistracy independent of the executive power.
The AD proposes to regulate 'lobbying', with mandatory and public registration of lobbyists and entities represented, monitor the government's legislative footprint, strengthen human and material resources to combat corruption, modify the criminal process to combat the formation of mega-trials and reduce the possibility of legal maneuvers to delay processes.
Other commitments include the criminalization of illicit enrichment, the toughening of sanctions in the general corruption prevention regime, the strengthening of pre-emptive measures (such as exemption from punishment for corruption), the setting of a 72-hour time limit for detention until a judge's decision is taken, the specialization of judges and magistrates, the enhancement of careers and a study on the advantages of unifying the common jurisdiction with the administrative and fiscal jurisdiction.
At this government's first Council of Ministers meeting last week, the Minister of Justice was tasked with initiating dialogue with all parties represented in Parliament, stakeholders in the sector and civil society to, within two months, "promote the rapid adoption of an ambitious, effective and consensual anti-corruption program".
Security forces
The DA's electoral program aims to "initiate, as a matter of priority, a process of professional development and remuneration for the men and women who serve in the security forces and services".
During the debates and the election campaign, Luís Montenegro promised to launch a process of dialogue with the security forces "immediately" on taking office, and described as fair the PSP and GNR's demand for equivalence to the mission supplement already allocated to the Judicial Police, without however committing to values.
New airport
The AD's election manifesto only mentions as an objective "to decide rapidly on the construction of the new airport", without mentioning locations.
During the pre-campaign, Montenegro pledged, at the start of the government, to take up the final result of the Independent Technical Commission and decide, if possible in agreement with the SP. "If we don't, we'll move on", assured Luís Montenegro at a luncheon organized by Portugal's Tourism Confederation at the end of February.
With regard to TAP, the electoral platform aims to "launch the process of privatizing the company's share capital".
Immigration
The AD program states that Portugal is "a country open to immigration, but not with its doors wide open", which must be "materialized through quantitative targets for immigration, taking into account the security dimension, prioritizing in terms of qualifications and avoiding exploitation by illegal and criminal networks".
Other priorities include creating an attraction, reception and integration program, "promoting, wherever possible, regulated immigration of family nuclei", and developing a specific policy to attract young students to Portuguese universities and polytechnics.
Defense
It is proposed to open a "negotiation process for the significant improvement of salary conditions in general and in particular for the category of soldiers, to guarantee the recruitment of the volunteers needed to reach the authorized strength".
Other objectives include bringing the value of spending as a percentage of GDP closer to Portugal's NATO commitment (2 % by 2030), strengthening incentives for contracted military personnel, and "dignifying and respecting veterans".
Notícias ao Minuto has also put together the main economic points that could change for taxes, wages and pensions and housing, which you can consult here to stay informed about what could impact your wallet.
After its arrival at the Assembly of the Republic, the Government's program will be presented and debated in Parliament between Thursday and Friday. At the end of the debate, the Executive takes full office.
It should be noted that the PCP has already announced that it will table a motion to reject the document, but the PS has already said that it will not make it viable.
