Deputy Secretary General of the PS accuses Cavaco Silva of “inattention” and “destructive spirit” in the face of the Government’s housing measures – Politics

The assistant general secretary of the PS, João Torres, accused this Saturday the former President of the Republic Cavaco Silva of being inattentive to the Government’s housing measures and of continuing to use a “destructive spirit” in relation to the executive.

“I think that Professor Cavaco Silva, with the statements he made this Saturday, reveals a profound disregard for the Government’s strategy and the set of measures that was announced some time ago, many of which are still under public discussion”, he said. to Lusa João Torres.

The number two of the PS reacted to the statements made this Saturday by the also former social democratic prime minister for the housing sector and his conclusion that the crisis in this area “is the result of the failure of the Government’s policy”, expressing “many doubts” regarding the success of the executive’s package, which he considered to have a “credibility problem”.

“Over the last few years we have become accustomed to listening to Professor Cavaco Silva almost always with a destructive spirit in relation to the Government and in relation to the PS, and today was no exception”, considered João Torres.

For the former Secretary of State for Commerce, Services and Consumer Protection, “it would be expected, on the part of a former head of State, to have a more constructive posture”.

João Torres also “vehemently” rejected the criticism that the housing crisis is the PS Government’s fault, saying that “there are several factors, many of them of a complex nature, which explain the moment we are going through from the point of view of costs access to housing”.

João Torres said that Cavaco Silva’s “profound inattention” is revealed by not pointing out, for example, that “there are currently 230 local housing strategies being implemented in the country that were conceived in partnership with the municipalities”.

“There is no type of ideological bias on the part of the measures that the Government has presented”, added the head of the PS, since “a large part of the incentives and tax benefits are precisely intended for owners and landlords”.

Cavaco Silva spoke this Saturday at the conference that marked the 30th anniversary of the Special Rehousing Program (PER), an initiative of the Lisbon City Council, which was also attended by the president of the PSD, Luís Montenegro, who considered “justified and well-founded” the criticism of Cavaco Silva.

“We have been warning of this option for the Government to bring anything but what is intended, which is confidence, stability, predictability and the ability to execute a real program that increases the housing supply in Portugal”, emphasized the leader of the PSD.

The number two of the PS told Lusa that Montenegro’s criticism “is absolutely unfounded”, and that the Government’s measures are based “on the trust that needs to be generated among all agents in the sector”.