Portugal Socialist leader José Luís Carneiro urges party to prepare for regionalisation debate

Socialist Party secretary‑general José Luís Carneiro told party members that the PS must be ready to ask Portuguese citizens whether they want regionalisation, proposing that regional powers obtain direct democratic legitimacy to address economic, social and territorial development.

Carneiro sharply criticised the centre‑right government led by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, accusing it of insensitivity on housing, of chaos in schools over delayed national exam results, of a “de‑humanising” labour reform and of inadequate health‑care emergency responses. He called on local leaders, including Matosinhos mayor Luísa Salgueiro, to join a national secretariat aimed at finding housing solutions and pledged new measures for the National Health Service.

The speech also outlined the party’s economic agenda: boosting productivity through technology, developing the interior, and addressing youth unemployment by targeting 100 000 vocational trainees and 140 000 young people neither studying nor working. Carneiro cited party figures from the Porto district as part of his appeal for a unified, innovative socialist stance.