LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal’s new center-right minority government took office Tuesday, days after its first test in parliament exposed both the pitfalls and the opportunities it faces following a radical right populist party’s sudden surge in support in a recent general election.
Only one of the 17 ministers sworn in at a ceremony in Lisbon’s 19th-century Ajuda National Palace has previous top-level government experience. Even Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, who promised a Cabinet made up of specialists from outside the usual political circles, has never sat in government before.
Some key members of the Cabinet have spent time in Brussels and are familiar with the European Union’s corridors of power. They include Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel and Defense Minister Nuno Melo, who were European lawmakers from 2009. Portugal, a country of 10.3 million people, is receiving more than 22 billion euros ($23.6 billion) through 2026 from the EU to fuel growth and enable economic reforms.
Finance Minister Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, a Lisbon university professor, is likely to have a prominent role as the new administration seeks to keep a lid on what in the past has been ruinous government overspending. He wants fiscal policies to help drive investment and saving.
