The Portuguese are called to the legislative elections that take place, in advance, on the 10th of March, following the resignation of still Prime Minister António Costa, following seeing his name involved in suspicions of corruption. To succeed him, there are eight candidates with different proposals for the social and economic problems facing the country
The concerns experienced at Portugal level are consensual among political parties. The topics range from corruption, security, justice, to health, immigration and housing, the latter being one of the most debated in the European country.
However, the divergence point has a bearing on the ways of facing and solving the problems identified with each of the eight candidates presenting the paths that seem best to offer the solutions that the Portuguese expect.
The Socialist Party, with Pedro Nuno Santos at its head, is seen by the majority of its opponents as responsible for the current social state in which the country finds itself.
However, the politician, who believes in the Portuguese vote of confidence in him, admits the existence of weaknesses in the justice sector, in agreement with the Left Bloc, led by Mariana Mortágua.
Pedro Nuno Santos, in one of the television debates on the occasion of the legislative elections that put him face to face with Mariana Mortágua, said it was necessary to identify the obstacles that create difficulties for a given judicial process to end as quickly as possible.
In this chapter, Mortágua understands, firstly, that the important issue of hierarchy in the Public Ministry must be ensured. For the Left Bloc, work needs to be done to put an end to excessive pre-trial detention. But, to achieve this, he defends the provision of more means and better conditions for those who work in justice.
Regarding security, Luís Montenegro’s PSD has drawn up a program in which it intends, in the first week of its Government, in the event of victory, to begin a dialogue with the Public Security Police (PSP) and the GNR , in order to try to find, from the point of view of careers and the valorization of paid work, appropriate answers to guarantee the exercise of the activity.
Meanwhile, CHEGA, André Ventura’s party, based on the experience of other European countries, defends in its governance program the guarantee that the Police and the GNR declare a strike. However, the politician did not fail to note that these must be done with restrictions, as happens with the medical profession.
Housing sector
Housing in Portugal is one of the sectors that is in crisis with the lack of housing on the one hand and, on the other, with house prices reaching high levels, which leave part of the young population, mainly, unable to obtain a own or rented space to live.
Therefore, for the Liberal Initiative, which has Rui Rocha at its head, it is necessary to promote policies aimed at speeding up licensing and reducing taxes on housing.
“VAT should drop to 6%. That the State’s empty homes be at the service of citizens on an affordable income basis”, she argued. The PAN, led by Inês Sousa Real, understands that the housing problem can be resolved by acting on public assets and approving the right to subsidized credit.
“We will not be able to overcome the damage caused by the lack of housing if the State does not quickly place on the market the assets it also owns.”
In the same sense, Rui Tavares, from LIVRE, said that, to solve this problem, his party “proposed and obtained a State Budget that one/quarter of the social tax from all real estate transactions goes to a housing emergency fund ”.
In another debate that brought together Paulo Raimundo and André Ventura, the general secretary of the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) looked at immigration as a large-scale problem in the European country, where many young people from that nation leave for other places, pursuing better living conditions.
Therefore, he said, in the same way many citizens from other countries arrive in Portugal, a fact that requires the creation of adequate conditions to receive and shelter them.
But Ventura, who says he has nothing once morest immigrants, points out his country’s mistake in allowing uncontrolled immigration.
The 2024 legislative elections in Portugal are scheduled for next Sunday, March 10th, and eight candidates are running for the position of prime minister.