1. A way to evaluate 2020 and Antonio Costa? Let us compare it to Boris Johnson, a kind of charismatic populist who began the year to deny the importance of the Kovid-19 and ended it by announcing almost immediate English imprisonment at Christmas. The worst of both worlds, as they now say.
Amid a Trump-style laxity, Boris contracted Kovid, changing his mind, but he never thought about how to prevent it instead of treating it. The year ends with 2.5 million cases and 72 thousand deaths. With Britain having around 65 million inhabitants, this means a 50% mortality rate, compared to the proportion of our 10 million Portuguese.
Due to the loss of control of the situation, Boris discovered “the most contagious strain”. This may be true, even if the issue is that the state capital was already out of control during the Christmas season (Level 2 of a 5K ban…) despite the London season and Christmas shopping.
And then, on a beautiful Christmas Eve on Saturday, the “Churchill-21st century” caused panic throughout the world and was intended to lead to a stricter imprisonment in parts of London, as if people had an immediate escape. There was no way. Trains, stations and airports were filled, creating the most undesirable contact imaginable in a “Kovid” picture, to close it with “easily permeable” tension (he said …).
The great lesson of the epidemic is that the countries that best adapted to the crisis were those who communicated their decisions in a timely manner so as not to cause disruptions to the bankruptcy of logistics chains and small businesses.
It is no crime to say that Antonio Costa was almost always “better” than “worse” in 2020. In fact, it would be claustrophobic to live the epidemic under the logic of an authoritarian power that would make the security forces enemies in each. Corner. This flexibility and common sense often gave us less than optimal results, but it guaranteed us a dose of margin to not advance mental health.
On top of an epidemic, Costa attacked the dignity, throwing the country into almost instability. To cap it off, he is ending up in the middle of Christmas, alone, when he accumulates the EU presidency with the script of maximum demand.
The stop may have helped you understand the danger. He learned that he would focus on the country and would leave a diplomatic job to Augusto Santos Silva. From now until June 30, a lot can happen in Portugal – and in the autumn it will be too late to insure the results of municipalities and state budgets.
Antonio Costa is teaching the landscape well. Pasos is nearby, the left is uncertain and polls show nothing is lost. You have to be more at home. After all, he does not want to go to Europe to submit his resume, as it has given for many commentators. In fact, he said that he intended to stay for a third term. No one believed? It’s going to be that fight.
In summary: abstraction from the undisputed recognition caused by health professionals, the question remains: for resistance to everything, if Costa Portugal did not have the figure of the year, who would?
2. This week SIC Notícias then presented the itinerary written by Teresa Concecio, “Portugal a Lista”. Well done as always, the first episode allows an absolutely sensational view of the island of Floors, with images by Rafael Cunha with cameras and drones.
It is a matter of pride for Portugal to have such places. Azores are our largest pearl, but one of the last havens in the world (despite the abundance of livestock, eutrophication of the lagoon and loss of biodiversity). The wear is more pronounced in São Miguel, but is limited on islands such as São Jorge and Pico.
I have never been to Flores e Corvo, but after seeing those images from the SIC program, it became even more mandatory to go there after the epidemic. The program is still available in the box. seeing is believing.
3. In a year in which the rooms were vacant, TV Cine became an interesting destination to watch many films and others which did not succeed. One of them is accused of “J” – Officer and Detective “, a work by Roman Polanski about the deplorable case” Dreyfus “, starring Jeanne Dujardian. In addition to Polsky’s irreplaceable historical interruptions and direction from the actors, the film brings Is. A vision of the destructive power of justice in the hands of a manipulative state power (which prevents judges and investigators themselves).
Concerns about judicial independence / efficiency, manipulation of evidence of crime, and trials in the public square are some of the most disturbing topics of our lives as citizens, about the right or permanent vigilance about values and dystopias Victims are: Governance power machines.
2021 brings us this danger: the lack of evidence to prove people guilty in advance who think we are criminals; Criminals who play with the impossibility of undoing the Skane where they have hidden the shortcuts of their crimes. Or effective punishments, fighting for years until they lost sight.
If this is not the most dangerous year of Portuguese justice – with “Socrates” and “Salgado” finally on trial – I don’t know what it will be.
4. And for something completely different, Netflix Film-Doctor. “Death to 2020” briefly destroys the year and brings political “comments” from the figures played by Houston Grant, Samuel L. Jackson and the “Queen of England”. very special.
Good year!
