Storm crisis forces Portuguese interior minister out of office

Portugal’s Minister of Home Affairs, Maria Lucia Amaral, resigned following mounting criticism over the government’s handling of a series of deadly winter storms that have claimed at least 14 lives in recent weeks, Bloomberg reports.

Amaral stepped down after concluding that she no longer possessed the “personal and political conditions necessary to remain in office,” President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said in a statement on the presidency’s website, confirming he had accepted her resignation.

A law professor by training, Amaral faced sharp criticism from opposition parties for her initial absence when the first storms struck Portugal in late January, causing widespread flooding, power outages, and infrastructure damage across the country. She had previously defended the government’s response, stating that extensive work was underway within the ministry “in a context of invisibility.”

Her departure represents the first ministerial resignation since Prime Minister Luis Montenegro’s center-right coalition took office in June 2025. In the interim, Montenegro will temporarily assume responsibility for the home affairs portfolio, the presidency confirmed. He is scheduled to participate in a biweekly parliamentary debate on  February 11.

The winter storms have prompted calls for improved disaster preparedness and more visible leadership in crisis management, placing additional scrutiny on senior officials.

By Vafa Guliyeva