“It would be different if it reached the house of those who govern”: president of Leiria spoke with “his heart in his mouth”

“There continue to be many barriers between Lisbon and the rest of the country”, said Gonçalo Lopes. Minister realizes his “passion”.

The president of Leiria City Council “attacked” again. After those about the “carousel” and the “zoo” in the city, the focus was now different: the answers to those in need – and what they would be like in Lisbon.

Gonçalo Lopes said this Monday that, if the impact of Kristin’s depression had been on the home of those who govern the country, the response would have been faster, referring to the restoration of electricity.

“We have the clear feeling that all this important effort – and I do not call into question the work being done by all the workers involved – demonstrates another situation, which is that, in fact, the country can be supportive, the people are supportive, but there are still many barriers between Lisbon and the rest of the country, because, if this had happened in the house of those who govern us, the response would have been faster and perhaps it would have been different”, stated Gonçalo Lopes.

At a press conference at Firefighters Sapadores de Leiria, where the municipal operations center is located, the socialist mayor considered that the degree of empathy that one must have in politics It involves putting yourself “in the shoes of those who suffer most and not leaving behind those who are the most disadvantaged, those who live in villages, the elderly populations”.

Ensuring that he has “a very clear assessment of the limitations and means used on the ground”, Gonçalo Lopes considered, however, that the resilience of a company like E-Redes, the main operator of the electricity distribution network in mainland Portugal of high, medium and low voltage networks, “should be bigger and support mechanisms should have been activated sooner”.

“A company that is responsible for bringing energy to people’s homes and for which we pay every month on our bill, with a tariff that is regulated by its own entity, required other responsiveness”, he declared, regretting that “the response capacity, at national level, was insufficient and the necessary international means were not activated to make this recovery more rapid”.

The mayor of the municipality said that there was 17,030 customers without electricity in the municipality, “information collected on the platform” to which the municipality has access.

“When we talk about information, we are not just talking about the accountants who are active”, he maintained, highlighting that there is more “information that is important, namely planning, work carried out, priorities”.

In this sense, he highlighted that “the dimension of transparency is not limited to Excel”, admitting that he has “many doubts about this information”.

Minister notices passion

The Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, refuted the statements made by the president of the Chamber of Leiria.

“Of course that’s not it. I understand this passion, the critical moment that the mayors are living, and often the heart is next to the mouth“, these.

“Governments put the country ahead of their own interests. The Portuguese who are listening to me have absolutely no doubts”, said the minister.

“I understand the statements in this warmer moment, but I completely refute these statements,” he stated.

Pinto Luz said that the communications cannot “be resumed at 100% until we have power”mass E-Redes “is doing a Herculean jobhas more than a thousand men on the ground and is restoring all situations”.