Portugal’s new PM to break almost total public silence since election at swear-in

Portugal’s new prime minister, Luís Montenegro, will break the almost total public silence he has maintained since election night at his swearing-in on Tuesday, except for an audience with the country’s president in Belém and a trip to Brussels.

Portugal’s president will swear in the 24th Constitutional Government on Tuesday, in a ceremony scheduled for 6 pm at the Palácio da Ajuda, less than a month after the legislative elections on 10 March, which gave victory to the Democratic Alliance Party (the pre-election coalition formed by PSD, CDS-PP and PPM).

Since election night, Montenegro has only spoken to the media at the end of the two hearings he had in Belém on 20 and 21 March, but without answering questions about the challenges of governing with a narrow parliamentary majority (80 PSD/CDS MPs against 78 from the PS and with a bench of 50 Chega MPs).

“I conveyed to the country’s president that our motivation is the same as in the election campaign: we are focused on the problems of the Portuguese, on the lives of every citizen who lives and works in Portugal, respecting the will of the Portuguese people to promote a change of government, prime minister and policies in Portugal,” he said.

Regarding the PS secretary-general’s willingness to make a possible amending state budget possible, Montenegro only said he was “pleased to note Pedro Nuno Santos’ sense of responsibility”.

On 21 March, in Brussels, as prime minister-designate, he told European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that “there is no reason to question the stability of the country” or “the stability of a government solution which, although it doesn’t have an absolute majority in the country’s parliament, has the confidence of the voters”.

On that occasion, he also promised speedy implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan to “make up for delays” – which were denied by the previous government of António Costa.

Montenegro has since only made note of the meeting with Costa on social media, saying on 27 March that it was for the “passing of the baton that will open a new cycle in Portugal” or for the presentation to the country’s president of the line-up of ministers on Thursday.

Montenegro’s new executive, which includes the leader of the CDS-PP, Nuno Melo, as defence minister, is made up of 17 ministers, although the secretaries of state are not yet known and will be sworn in on Friday.

In addition to two ministers of state—Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel, who will be the government’s “number two”—and Finance Minister Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, Montenegro will also have Manuel Castro Almeida as deputy minister and in charge of the Territorial Cohesion portfolio. Castro Almeida appears in fifth place in the government hierarchy, after the cabinet office minister, António Leitão Amaro, and before the minister for parliamentary affairs, Pedro Duarte.

More than 60% of the ministerial line-up belongs to PSD’s Standing Committee – the hard core of the leadership – and four names are put forward as independents, all ministers.

The new government will have seven ministers, two less than Costa’s previous PS executive.

President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa spoke publicly about the new government only once, on 21 March. In a speech, he stressed the importance of Montenegro going to Brussels as prime minister-designate.

“It was important for the country that the prime minister-designate took part in important meetings in Brussels today as a future prime minister if he forms a government,” said Rebelo de Sousa, highlighting the meetings held in that city between Montenegro, Costa, von der Leyen, and with members of the European People’s Party.

(Sara Madeira – edited by Pedro Sousa Carvalho | Lusa.pt)

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