The storms that attacked the country are yet another example of extreme weather phenomena that will be part of the new normal. In winter and summer, in the interior and on the coast, in villages and cities, we will have to deal more and more with these realities, preparing ourselves better, reacting effectively and gaining habits of almost permanent reconstruction.
In these scenarios, all capabilities are called upon: management at national level, complemented with the decisive local factor of local authorities; leadership of public institutions, but with the involvement of civil society; emergency actions, combined with medium-term interventions.
This is how we acted in Lisbon: initially, offering solidarity to the severely affected regions; in a second, alerting the population, limiting risks, protecting critical areas; in a third, launching immediate replacement interventions, paving streets, recovering sidewalks, public spaces and damaged equipment; and in a fourth, we will recalibrate multi-year investments, adjusting plans to new realities.
The positive effect of ongoing structural investments should also be noted. In good time, Carlos Moedas’s Executive moved forward with the major work of the General Drainage Plan, which had containment effects already in this crisis, through installed tunnels and retention basins. At the right time, we approved a budget for 2026 that sees investment grow four times more than current expenditure, reinforcing the city’s structural capabilities.
However, this picture should lead the Portuguese to get out of the froth of their days and reflect on the fundamental issues we face, from the effectiveness of our economic and societal model to the relevance of our priorities, including the quality of institutions and administrations.
In recent decades, we have treated crucial issues with enormous consequences too lightly: socialist governments made the serious error of exchanging public investments for merely distributive and cyclical policies; there has been a lack of firmness in defending the State’s planning capabilities, in establishing elite cadres, in valuing institutions.
Furthermore, both left-wing parties and populist forces have called into question the user-pays principle, weakening the financing of critical infrastructures, their maintenance and development, therefore harming the citizens who most depend on public services. Finally, the State has not been able to integrate the contribution of institutions with technical quality and mission spirit, such as military structures, universities and scientific centers, and civil society organizations that can make a difference.
The lessons of these dramatic occurrences, losses of human lives and billions of losses, should not be overlooked. We need robust infrastructures, installed capacities and efficient response mechanisms. We need ambitious, admittedly sustainable and financeable investment plans. We need all the skills and energies, at the central, municipal and also metropolitan areas, integrating the best that the country produces, in academia, in the private sector and, yes, in the military and security forces. We need the strategic planning function not to be a prop, we need good governance practices in institutions and, of course, we need people in key positions who are knowledgeable, diligent and effective.
We are able to recover from emergency situations and position ourselves well for the future, but this means addressing head-on the structural challenges that new realities pose to us. We will all win.
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