After the days of greatest distress following the train of storms that hit Portugal from January 28th – first with the depression Kristin, followed by Leonardo, Marta and Nils – and with the most affected areas recovering, in a process that will take months to complete, I believe it is time to highlight, in a positive light, some of the personalities who during the most problematic days were on the front line, not taking refuge in “moments of learning” and work of secretary.
While it is impossible to highlight everyone who was on the field from the very beginning helping the population and drawing attention to the difficulties they faced, there are some compliments to be given. The mayor of Coimbra is one of these personalities. From the outset, Ana Abrunhosa was the face of the decisions made in her region, demonstrating great communication skills, explaining the decisions she made bluntly. An attitude that earned praise from the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa: “It was always tena.”
Another mayor who gained media exposure was the mayor of Leiria. Your region was the one that suffered most from the Kristin Depression, which caused millions of euros in losses and left thousands of people without electricity and countless homes and businesses without roofs. Gonçalo Lopes was also on the street from the first moment monitoring the problems of his residents and even had to hear the former Minister of Internal Administration, Maria Lúcia Amaral, say that she did not know “what failed” in the prevention and subsequent support for the affected populations. Adding that this situation was a “collective learning”. Anyone who saw the television images also noticed the mayor’s expression, to say the least, surprise. His commitment to the population was expressed in the interview published in Diário de Notícias, on the 12th, when he stressed: “I will leave this fire station when everyone in Leiria has electricity.” Which hasn’t happened yet.
Finally, we highlight the Minister of Environment and Energy. Maria da Graça Carvalho was the government official – alongside the prime minister – who appeared most on the ground. It is true that the management of dams, flows, etc., is the responsibility of the Portuguese Environment Agency, but the truth is that it walked around the affected areas, talked to people and made decisions. It’s true that he did his job, but given what happened to other elements of the Government, he ends up receiving praise.
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