“But what I represent is a new impulse, a will to address challenges we didn’t get to, come up with new solutions for the problems we were unable to solve, and keep advancing with the measures that remain unfinished.”
One major challenge for whoever leads Portugal next is housing: The price of homes more than doubled during Costa’s time in office. Thousands have taken to the streets in protest over the past year, complaining that unchecked tourism and golden visa schemes have made the situation worse.
Santos, who served as infrastructure and housing minister between 2019 and 2023, said it was important to “not demonize the tourism sector,” but also acknowledged that the government had been “incapable of addressing this challenge in time.”
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The socialist leader said he attempted to reduce pressures for housing demand and increase supply with schemes to build new homes and rehabilitate public buildings for residential use — “not just for low-income residents, but for the middle classes” — adding, however, that such projects take time to produce results.
“You don’t build a house in a year. … Had we started to tackle this problem two, three decades ago, we would have been better off,” he said. “We left housing up to the market and we’re paying the consequences now.”
Santos said that, if elected, he would push for reindustrialization of Portugal to create quality jobs, with policies he said the Socialists had been unable to enact during their eight years in office — due to snap elections.
“Our priority is to invest in industrial development, because that’s the only way we get a sophisticated, diversified economy capable of providing better salaries,” he said. “We don’t want to be a party that’s only about social welfare; we’re social democrats who also have economic plans.”
This article has been updated to reflect the circumstances of Santos’ resignation in 2023.
