António Costa has been sworn in as Prime Minister of the XXIII Constitutional government by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on Wednesday at Palacio Nacional da Ajuda.
The new socialist-majority government includes 17 ministers and 28 secretaries of state. For the first time ever in the history of Portugal, the majority of ministers are women, 9 out of 17. The cabinet is 20% smaller than usual.
António Costa has been sworn in as Prime Minister of the XXIII Constitutional government by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on Wednesday at Palacio Nacional da Ajuda.
The new socialist-majority government includes 17 ministers and 28 secretaries of state. For the first time ever in the history of Portugal, the majority of ministers are women, 9 out of 17. The cabinet is 20% smaller than usual.
Prime Minister Antonio Costa’s speech stated that the state budget is ready to once again be voted in parliament, one that did not pass and led to the January 2022 General Election. If the Socialist Party had not won a majority, it would be close to impossible to pass their proposed state budget since all other parties were against it. Now, with a majority, the same state budget that was once rejected is likely to pass.
The Prime Minister also thanked the former government for reducing the deficit below 3%, for their work to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, for responding to the climate crisis, increasing the investment in research and investigation, as well as increasing the number of undergraduate students, and much more.
He said: “Today we are a more qualified country, more sustainable, more innovative, and less unequal”. He also reminded those watching that the European Commission found that Portugal is the most qualified to reach carbon neutrality.
In the 20-minute speech, PM Antonio Costa also stated:
“We have a duty to innovate, to modernize, to guarantee decent employment and create wealth, to progress together, with inclusion… Only by committing ourselves to social dialogue, mobilizing civil society, and welcoming the positive contributions of other political parties can continue to advance”.
Tomou hoje posse o XXIII Governo Constitucional. Um dia emotivo e de enorme responsabilidade. Numa altura em que estamos ainda a enfrentar a pandemia, já temos de combater os efeitos da guerra desencadeada pela #Rússia com a invasão da #Ucrânia. #xxiiigoverno pic.twitter.com/p6OOFOCCAr
— António Costa (@antoniocostapm) March 30, 2022
