Most of the parties received by Portugal's president of the Republic at the Belém Palace signalled they are open to dialogue on housing, according to RTP. The meetings placed housing and social cohesion at the centre of the president's consultations with the parties.
On the left, every party that took part asked for the proposed rent law to be withdrawn, RTP reports. The broadcaster did not specify in its summary which parties attended or what the remaining parties said beyond their willingness to talk.
The round of hearings drew wider attention to social cohesion in Portugal. RTP also reported a warning from sociologist Luís Capucha that social cohesion in the country is at risk. Jornal de Negócios reported that the president was receiving the parties to discuss housing and other social cohesion topics.
Coverage of the consultations also included proposals from specialists on how to tackle the housing problem, published by ECO. The details of those proposals were not set out in the material available.
The consultations come as housing remains a central political question, with the rent bill a particular point of contention between the president's interlocutors.
What to watch next: whether the rent proposal stays on the table and whether the parties' stated willingness to talk on housing turns into agreed positions.