The “political disagreement” is adopted by both parties. The President of the Republic vetoes the program More housing and speaks of a “political problem” in the measures; hours later, the PS reinforces the difference with Marcelo and assumes that, when the diploma is voted again in the Assembly of the Republic, the socialists will approve it “as is”. And then, from Poland (where he is on an official visit), Marcelo comments on the majority decision: “There’s no drama at all. It is the normal operation of settings. Life goes on, here we will live to see the result in 2 or 3 years.”
The decision on the package of measures arrived late this morning on Monday, when the presidency announced on its website Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa’s 28th veto, in a purely political decision. Or had it not been the case that the president himself had dispelled all doubts about the constitutionality of the government’s package of measures a few days earlier by announcing that he would not send the diploma to the Constitutional Court (TC).
In a statement, the head of state explained that, looking at the More housing“it is not easy to see efficiently and quickly where the promised housing supply comes fromIn fact, according to Marcelo, this is “an example of how a bad start in response to a needwhich has become dramatic, crucial and highly urgent over time, may negatively assess it”.
After the decision is known, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said the range of housing measures is “manifestly insufficient”. and he spoke again of the need for a broader political consensus, the only solution that could “compensate” for the program’s shortcomings. AND, “without changing course” this “regime agreement”, says Marcelo, “may not exist until 2026” [ano das próximas Legislativas].
Despite the changes made to the More housing since the announcement (13 in total), the President of the Republic maintains that the degree “makes it difficult to regain the lost confidence of private investment, as the public and social investment it provides is limited and slow”reads the communiqué released by Belém.
Even after the veto, the Minister of Housing said that for the government “the diploma and the various proposals are important”. Marina Gonçalves also said that the measures presented are balanced.
PS confirms; critical opposition
In the plenary vote on the program on 19 July, the PS approved the isolated set of measures. Livre and PAN abstained, while all other parties united and voted against.
And after the veto, the socialists remain isolated. Through the voice of Eurico Brilhante Dias, parliamentary leader, the PS disagreed with the arguments put forward for the presidential veto, despite “respecting political disagreement”. Speaking in parliament, the socialist deputy referred to that, despite Marcelo’s arguments, the party “reaffirms the urgency to respond to the housing crisis”to confirm the diploma. The PS therefore obliges the announcement. Brilhantes Dias praised that Marcelo found no constitutional shortcomings, saying: “There is no panacea that can solve this problem overnight. It is a problem that is not exclusive to our country and also in other countries of the European Union is felt.”
Faced with the presidential leader, Luís Montenegro, he sharply criticized the package of measures, assuming that to pass it again in parliament is an “insult”.. So said the social-democratic leader in Bragança the government needs to “literally tear up what it has done so far and start a housing program from scratch to improve access to housing for young people, couples with fewer resources and even the middle class”. For this, he guaranteed, “you can count on the PSD”. : “The government has made a mistake. Doctor António Costa must be humble and say to the country: “I made a mistake, I apologize. I am here to start from scratch”.
Chega welcomed the veto. In a press conference, André Ventura also announced that, if the PS confirms the text and forces Marcelo to issue it, the party will try to “gain parliamentary support to submit the diploma to the TC for inspection”. According to the Constitution this is possible if there is support from one tenth of the MPs (ie 23 of the 230).
IL also left criticism, saying the veto is a “natural decision”. “If that [a confirmação do diploma pelo PS] happens, I believe we no longer face a challenge from the PS and António Costa to the President of the Republic, no longer a challenge to the opposition parties, we face a challenge from António Costa and the PS to the country itself said Liberal leader Rui Rocha.
Criticism was also heard on the left. The Bloco de Esquerda, through its leader Fabian Figueiredo, accused the PS of being arrogant because “by insisting on the error, it tells the country that in practice it will do nothing to stop one of the greatest dramas of our time”.
The PCP, on the other hand, through Vasco Cardoso, a member of the Central Committee, said that is the main concern is due to the fact that “the package More housing be understood as a tool to promote real estate speculation”with no response to “critical issues” such as stabilizing the lease.
The PAN in turn reports this through spokeswoman Inês de Sousa Real hope “that there is still an opening for dialogue and discussion, so that later we do not get another presidential veto for measures that are disproportionate”. Livre said in a statement that, with the right of veto, the government can go further in the measuresmaking the program more ambitious.
Associations welcome
In turn, Pedro Fontainhas, president of the Portuguese Association of Residential Tourism and Resorts (APTR) told Lusa that the “measures lack a solid basis” and that lead “confirms the finding that the government’s measures to address the housing crisis plaguing Portugal are being pushed back ineffectively”. While the Association of Real Estate Promoters and Investors defended that in a statement this is the “ultimate opportunity” for the government to put more homes on the market and said in a statement that the presidential veto was not surprising.
António Frias Marques, presidents of the National Owners Association (ANP) told Lusa that he welcomes the presidential veto, given that “whoever passed these laws made an enemy of the small owner, the small landlord, to be slaughtered and that is completely wrong”.
For Local Accommodation, the Associação do Alojamento Local in Portugal (ALEP) welcomed the presidential veto, “with a mix of renewed hope and determination”. This lead, ALEP argued, could prevent “the catastrophic measures against Local Accommodation from going ahead”. Finally, the Associação do Alojamento Local do Porto e Norte (ALPN) considered that Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa had made a “good reading” to the concerns of the sector, namely with regard to the applicability of the measures. With Lusa
Source: DN
