“The words firefighters and League of Portuguese Firefighters are not unfamiliar to the new minister,” stated the president of the LBP, António Nunes, indicating that the league’s leaders met with Maria Lúcia Amaral twice while she was the Ombudsman, where they presented many sectoral issues.
According to António Nunes, Maria Lúcia Amaral, appointed today as Minister of Internal Administration, “has already been in contact” with firefighter issues.
The league’s president also noted that Maria Lúcia Amaral’s appointment as MAI during the peak wildfire season will not affect operations, as “firefighters are already mechanized with the response” and the system is already set.
António Nunes opined that the operational structure of Civil Protection should be reverted to district-based organization in October or November, replacing the current sub-regional commands established two years ago, an issue left pending from the previous legislative session.
He added that the government should not attempt this reform during the wildfire period.
The matter at hand is the territorial division of the civil protection system enacted by the socialist government, which abolished the 18 district operational and relief commands (CDOS). The executive intends to reactivate these CDOS and dismantle the 24 sub-regional emergency and civil protection commands.
The previous minister postponed the implementation of this measure until after the elections.
Maria Lúcia Amaral, aged 68, now Ombudsman, was chosen by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro to replace Margarida Basco as Minister of Internal Administration.
António Nunes observed that the previous MAI team “took too long to make necessary adjustments,” hoping the new minister will be “more incisive” and “able to overcome bureaucratic challenges.”
Prime Minister-designate Luís Montenegro today presented his second government, which will have 16 ministries, one less than the previous, retaining 13 out of 17 ministers from the outgoing executive.
The XXV Constitutional Government will take office on Thursday at 6:00 PM, 18 days post-elections, marking the fastest government formation process during the presidential terms of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
