The candidate for Secretary General of the PS José Luís Carneiro promises to present a proposal to reform the electoral system in parliament in the first six months of the next term, defends a referendum on regionalization and wants to regulate ‘lobbying’.
These three objectives are contained in José Luís Carneiro’s strategy motion, a document that he will present this Thursday to the President of the PS, Carlos César, and in which he positions the PS as a party capable of “concepts both left and right, seeking broad consensus in strategic areas for the development of democracy and the country”.
However, in the field of foreign policy it leaves a dividing line with regard to the parties to the left of the PS: “The rapprochement with other political forces must take into account the special context of the importance of Portugal’s role in the EU and NATO.”
“The context of war on Europe’s doorstep does not in fact appear to have a cyclical character. This situation, added to the worsening conflict in the Middle East, decisively determines the strategic positioning of the PS, reinforcing the need to maintain its strategic autonomy. In the rapprochement, other political forces must take into account the special context of importance of Portugal’s role in the EU and NATO.”is supported by the motion to which the Lusa agency had access.
With regard to the political system, the candidate for the PS leadership commits to: “in the first six months of the new legislature, and after a wide public debate, submit proposals to the Assembly of the Republic regarding the reform of the electoral system, improving the connection between elected officials and voters and accordingly strengthening the representative legitimacy of the Assembly of the Republic”.
José Luís Carneiro also promises to submit proposals “reform of the local government system, following the decentralization of powers to its bodies, regionalization and transparency in the exercise of political positions and high public positions”.
In terms of decentralization, the former president of the Baião City Council argues that the PS “should initiate and guide a broad national debate, with a view to a decision on the call for a new national referendum on regionalization, the respective territorial model and the nature of the powers to be granted to administrative regions in the event of their creation “.
If he is elected general secretary of the PS in the direct internal elections on December 15 and 16, the current Minister of the Interior will “will defend the regulation of the exercise of advocacy activities in entities of a public nature (lobbying) with mandatory registration of interests”.
In this transparency chapter, it also promises to produce an account of the ‘legislative footprint’, which identifies the origins of draft legislation, as well as all interactions between bodies with legislatures and third parties.
The candidate for the leadership of the Socialists also wants to provide clarity “issues of obstacles and incompatibilities of deputies, in particular with regard to the exercise of their mandate in combination with the exercise of liberal professions in the context of companies that develop contractual relations with the State and other public entities or that litigate against them”.
José Luís Carneiro also comes up with another proposal in this area: “The publicity of hearings held by political office holders with interested parties, as a contribution to providing the general public with good information about the activities of public officials, without endangering the autonomy of political activities, the preservation of which is fundamental “.
Internally, in the PS, it will require the registration of all socialist candidates for elected positions in a country “declaration of commitment that they will fully respect the principles and rules regarding the institutional status they will play”.
Carneiro promises support program for SMEs and housing pact
PS leadership candidate José Luís Carneiro promises in his strategy motion to create a support program for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), reduce their financing costs, and implement a housing pact.
These are two of the political objectives present in José Luís Carneiro’s strategy motion that will be presented this Wednesday, a 50-page document entitled “For all, for all” and to which the Lusa agency had access.
If he is elected Socialist Secretary General in the December 15 and 16 elections, José Luís Carneiro wants to present himself at the parliamentary elections on March 10 with a support program for SMEs, in order to “immediately reduce financing costs in their component”. the state can intervene”, which means “no costs are incurred for government guarantees issued by banks for the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises”.
“Immediately establish for all government agencies a maximum period of 90 days for the repayment of financing for projects supported by community funds, which will be reduced to 30 days in the future, immediately increasing the liquidity of companies with funded projects” It is “Redirect part of the funds coming from the European Union to SMEs to support the investments to be made in production factors for their modernization” are other axes of this program.
On housing, José Luís Carneiro defends a ‘national pact’ “very significantly increase the public affordable housing stock and encourage the construction of new housing and urban rehabilitation for housing purposes, by the private and cooperative sectors, aligning incentives in cases where properties are intended for controlled-cost housing”.
According to the current Minister of the Interior, it is necessary to tackle the crisis in this sector “to provide cyclical support to families struggling to pay their installments or rent, and to provide an immediate response to the alarming growth in the number of homeless people”.
Regarding the homeless, she proposes to act “in dialogue with the Episcopal Conference” through “a program of rehabilitation of the various facilities of the diocesan district centers, in order to welcome people who have this need.”
“To support families with credit growth, we are proposing to reinstate the IRS tax deduction for interest expenses”the motion reads.
José Luís Carneiro argues for one “reform of the succession regime and of the inventory process, with the aim of facilitating the sharing of properties, allowing them to return to legal trade, increasing their use, as well as optimizing tax incentives and improving urban planning regulations simplify, increasing the tax on vacant properties and coordinating with local authorities the acquisition of real estate with a view to its conversion into social housing”.
In the area of salaries and pensions, the candidate secretary general of the PS says he intends to “a new ambition for the national minimum wage”to confirm “the appropriate objectives to reduce, in the context of social dialogue, the gap with the minimum wage in Spain over the next four years”.
Things are moving forward in the education sector with a proposal to do this “creating a network of vocational schools”.
As indicated in interviews and public interventions, José Luís Carneiro wants a reform of the justice system with broad political support and the participation of sector actors.
“In this context, the establishment of a Justice Advisory Council will contribute to this continuous assessment and monitoring of its implementation”will be added.
Source: DN
