With the 'slogan' “Lisbon can be much more than you imagine”, the coalition “Novos Tempos”, of PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança, defended housing and access to housing as the main issues during the electoral campaign, alongside health, public transport and business support.
The electoral program began by highlighting “a renewed strategy for transparency and for the prevention of corruption risks” in Lisbon City Hall and the creation of a city citizens assembly, which will be “permanent and representative of the Lisbon population, managed and organized by a specialized team, who are impartial and independent of political parties”.
For more innovation and more employment, the candidacy of the “New Times” coalition suggested the creation of the Recuperar + program, with extraordinary direct financial support for the reopening of businesses and activities of small and medium-sized companies; the exemption of kiosks and terraces from the payment of fees during the two-year period; investment in new municipal markets; the construction of a new congress centre in Lisbon; and the return of 32 million euros in taxes to Lisboners.
Other proposals are the promotion of 'start-ups' businesses through the Lisbon Innovation Lab and the creation of a one-stop shop for entrepreneurs and investors in Lisbon.
For a stronger local social state, the candidacy headed by Carlos Moedas proposed to “take much better care of the elderly”, with the implementation of a network of caregivers; the creation of senior republics; the construction, in the space of a year, of four intergenerational centers with homes for the elderly and day care centers and occupation of leisure time, in Ajuda, Bairro da Liberdade, Bairro das Garridas and Avenida Álvaro Pais; and free health insurance for the needy population over 65 who has difficulty accessing the National Health Service (SNS).
With the objective of reformulating the social housing policy, the electoral program aimed to readjust the management of the municipal company Gebalis to the real needs of the inhabitants of the social neighborhoods; ensuring the adequacy of dwellings to the size of the households that inhabit them, preventing overcrowding and promoting the rotation of their occupation; and the promotion of the right to property by residents in social neighborhoods, with the possibility of handing over the ownership of houses to all residents with up to date income and more than 15 years of residence.
To promote “a housing supply shock”, the proposals presented aim to stimulate the conversion of private properties to housing, with the “Reconverter para Habitar” program; make public vacant properties available, through the “Lisboa Imagina” program; rehabilitate vacant private housing properties, in the so-called “Rehabilitate para Habitar” program; build housing on municipal land - “Lisboa Renasce” Program; and encourage the construction of cooperative housing.
In addition, the Social Democrat came up with ideas for reducing bureaucracy and efficiency in urban licensing, including "guaranteeing approval of architectural projects in three to six months", and housing policies focused on families and young people, through tax exemption Council on the Onerous Transmission of Real Estate (IMT) for the acquisition of their own home by young people and the increase in the supply of houses in the Accessible Income Program.
In the area of mobility, Carlos Moedas pledged to provide free public transport for residents under 23 and over 65; transform the Metropolitano circular line and the future yellow line into a single loop line (Odivelas, Campo Grande, Rato, Cais do Sodré, Alameda, Campo Grande, Telheiras), to maintain direct connections (without transshipment) from Odivelas, north of Lisbon and Telheiras to the city center; eliminate the railroad barrier between the city and the Tagus; build more and better deterrent parks on the outskirts of the city; 50% discounts on EMEL parking for citywide residents; and redesigning Lisbon's cycling network “with a focus on safety, comfort and functionality for cyclists and pedestrians, eliminating problem bike lanes, such as the one at Almirante Reis, and designing viable alternatives”.
Among the proposals, available at https://carlosmoedas21.pt/programa, are also the creation of the World Center for the Economy of the Sea in the City; Parque Mayer as a meeting point for culture, science and the arts; and Espaços Lxis, with a theater in each of Lisbon's 24 parishes.
Carlos Moedas will succeed in the presidency of the Lisbon City Council the socialist Fernando Medina, who ran for the position by the coalition "Mais Lisboa" (PS/Livre).