The president of the National Association of Property Owners (ANP) said today that he hopes the new Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, can “correct the measures” that had been implemented for the sector by the outgoing government (PS).
“We’re looking forward to what’s going to happen. One of the things we want is for there to be a correction of the measures that were taken by the last government, which, for us, were completely inappropriate,” António Frias Marques told Lusa.
Miguel Pinto Luz, vice-president of the PSD and of Cascais City Council, will be the new Minister for Infrastructure and Housing in the XXIV Constitutional Government, led by social democrat Luís Montenegro, according to the list delivered this afternoon by the Prime Minister-designate to the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
Regarding the choice of Miguel Pinto Luz, the president of the ANP admitted that he didn’t know the new minister well, but said he was confident that he would be a “competent person” and hoped that he would be able to solve the housing problems “with the owners”.
“The previous government wanted to solve the housing problem against the owners. We think that the housing problem should be solved with the owners. That’s what we really want,” he said.
Although expectations are positive, António Frias Marques regretted the fact that the Housing portfolio will no longer have its own ministry and will once again be integrated into Infrastructures.
“The problem of housing is so important that, as far as we’re concerned, it can’t be dealt with by a simple state secretariat. It’s fundamental,” he said.
Miguel Pinto Luz will take up the post of minister for the first time, after having been Secretary of State for Infrastructure in the short-lived (October 30, 2015 – November 26, 2015) second government led by Pedro Passos Coelho.
The proposal to appoint Pinto Luz is contained in a note released by the Presidency of the Republic, after the Head of State, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, accepted the list of ministers of the XXIV Constitutional Government delivered by the Prime Minister-designate, Luís Montenegro.
In 2020, Pinto Luz (47) ran for the leadership of the PSD against Luís Montenegro and Rui Rio and came third, with around 10% of the votes, but two years later, the current PSD leader invited him to one of the party’s vice-presidencies.
Miguel Pinto Luz has a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Instituto Superior Técnico of the University of Lisbon and is 47 years old.
The swearing-in of the prime minister and ministers of the XXIV Constitutional Government will take place on Tuesday at 6pm at the Ajuda Palace. Three days later, in the same place and at the same time, the Secretaries of State will be sworn in.