Storms ahead for new PM

President Cavaco Silva is warning of "catastrophic risk" while the new prime minister Passos Coelho speaks of "new storms", headlines Público, reporting on the prime minister’s swearing-in on June 21. In his speech, Pedro Passos Coelho outlined his priorities: finance, the economy and justice. “The Government is going ahead with a Social Emergency Programme (PES) to address the threat of social crisis and the suffering caused by the current difficulties. This confirms its desire to move towards establishing a welfare state,” notes the Lisbon daily. The cuts in public administration expenses that Passos Coelho announced – which include cutting management staff and reducing the number of cars provided to state officials, along with other measures - will contribute to the National Savings Programme. Growth, competitiveness and employment are the major pledges of the new Minister for the Economy and Employment, Álvaro Santos Pereira, Público says. And on justice, the new executive’s main priorities will be improving the running of the courts and simplifying sentences to speed up court cases.