Parties have submitted a record 2,502 amendment proposals to the 2027 State Budget (Orçamento do Estado), with housing policy remaining the main point of contention. Finance Minister Joaquim Miranda Sarmento warned parliament that budgetary room is limited to preserve a projected 0.1% surplus, though the government signaled readiness to transfer 477 state-owned properties to municipalities for affordable housing. Cross-party talks remain deadlocked after Socialist Party (Partido Socialista or PS) leader José Luís Carneiro accused the government of intransigence over tenancy rules (lei do arrendamento), while Chega leader André Ventura presented 50 housing proposals that include income tax deductions on mortgage interest.
Record Budget Amendments Submitted Amid Stalled Housing Negotiations
Friday, 6 November 2026AI summary
Context & Explainers
José Luís Carneiro is a Portuguese politician and member of the Socialist Party (Partido Socialista or PS). He served as the Minister of Internal Administration (Ministro da Administração Interna) from 2022 to 2024 and currently holds a seat in the Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da República).
André Ventura, born January 15, 1983, is a lawyer, academic, and Portugal's most prominent far-right leader. He founded Chega ("Enough") in 2019 after his PSD mayoral campaign attacked the Romani community. Chega surged from 1.3% in 2019 to 22.8% in May 2025, becoming parliament's second-largest party and making Ventura Leader of the Opposition.
His platform emphasizes immigration restrictions, law-and-order policies, constitutional reform, and contains inflammatory anti-Romani rhetoric that has triggered multiple discrimination convictions and investigations. Politically classified as far-right by international media, Ventura cultivates alliances with European far-right figures including Marine Le Pen and Santiago Abascal.
Chega ("Enough") is a Portuguese far-right populist party founded in 2019 by André Ventura. It positions itself as an anti-establishment movement against what it calls a "rotten and corrupt system" of PS-PSD dominance. The party surged from 1.3% in 2019 to 22.8% in May 2025, becoming parliament's second-largest force with 60 seats. Chega's core platform emphasizes strict immigration control—ending automatic CPLP residency, deporting non-independent immigrants, implementing job-market quotas, and requiring five-year social security contributions before benefit access. It advocates radical constitutional reform, including reducing parliament to 100 members, abolishing the prime minister position for a presidential system, and dismantling public healthcare. Law-and-order policies include life imprisonment and chemical castration proposals.
The party is defined by inflammatory anti-Romani rhetoric, with Ventura convicted multiple times for discrimination. Chega maintains international alignments with European far-right figures including Marine Le Pen, Santiago Abascal, and Matteo Salvini. Mainstream Portuguese parties, including Prime Minister Luís Montenegro's government, have imposed a cordon sanitaire, refusing coalition with Chega despite its parliamentary strength.
- Minister of State and Finance (2024–present)
- Party: Social Democratic Party (PSD), Partido Social Democrata
- Background: Economist, university professor (ISEG)
Joaquim Miranda Sarmento is Portugal's Finance Minister in the AD government led by Luís Montenegro. An economist and professor at ISEG (Lisbon School of Economics & Management), he served as PSD parliamentary group leader before joining the government.
As Finance Minister, he oversees the state budget, tax policy, public debt management, and fiscal relations with the EU. His decisions on tax brackets, IRS withholding tables, housing incentives, and public spending directly affect residents' cost of living and investment climate.
15 sources
- Porto protest camp accuses Government of wanting to negotiate only for "show"cmjornal.pt ·
- Housing: Criticism marks meetings of Chega and PS leaders with the Governmentdn.pt ·
- AD returns accusation of “intransigence” to Carneiro. “It is easier to say no than to work”eco.sapo.pt ·
- Rent law. Carneiro "regrets intransigence" of the Government and AD accuses PS of denying realityrtp.pt ·
- How Chega divides the Socialists: to let them govern or not — that is the questionexpresso.pt ·
- Porto: Meeting on inclusive zoning called offobservador.pt ·
- From protest to the responsibility of decidingdn.pt ·
- “The idea of taking houses from the rich solves nothing”, says António Barretopublico.pt ·
- From credit commissions to capital gains on home sales: what unites and divides the AD, Chega, and PS on housing?expresso.pt ·
- Amadora maintains minimum IMI tax rate for urban buildingsobservador.pt ·
- Government available to transfer management of 477 properties to municipalitiesrtp.pt ·
- Parties have already submitted more than 2,500 amendment proposals to the 2027 State Budgetcmjornal.pt ·
- Parties have already submitted more than 2,500 amendment proposals to the State Budget. It is a new recordcnnportugal.iol.pt ·
- Government “intransigent” on rent law, but opens the door to tax adjustmentseco.sapo.pt ·
- 2027 State Budget: Parties have already submitted over 2,500 amendment proposalsdn.pt ·
