Mr Prime Minister, 52% of voters chose NABO in recent elections: N-ot valid, A-bstention, B-ranco (nothing), O-ther (less than 1%).
In 2019 they will elect extremists, as in Germany, Sweden and Hungary. This will bring us chaos, with unstable governments. The center-right equals the center-left, extremes demand stupid laws in order to approve a budget or anything basic for the country. Your ministers make mistakes.
1. ILLEGALITIES: The concession of SCUTs (motorways supported by EU-funds) is illegal. With EU-funds they may not be charged. The system chosen for payment is unusual: it was given to a company in foreign ownership, a monopoly.
"For decades Northern European roads have three lanes, where the middle one alternates every 2 to 3km, for safe overtaking"
2. DEMAGOGY: The majority of private cars left SCUTs for the National Roads, which reduced the profit for the cartel. This brought chaos to the roads. To give an impression of negotiating, your minister made nano-discounts based around election times.
3. FAVOURITISM: For years roundabouts are out. Radars measure the flow of traffic in each direction and optimize it. For decades Northern European roads have three lanes, where the middle one alternates every 2-3km, with separator, for safe overtaking.
“When the profit on the former SCUT fell, did the cartel press the Infrastructures of Portugal to make the national roads worse?”
It is difficult to overtake. Professionals and SMEs with a tight schedule have to pay for roads already paid for by the EU.
The North European alternative was listed in this e-zine when the works on the EN125 began and details given to the director of Infrastructures. It was ignored.
4. RAILWAYS: For almost 20 years nothing was invested in railways, unlike most of the EU. On purpose? Are bus makers and the contractors' cartel, lobbying?
The minister said he needs to rent trains and new ones will take five years to come. ABSURD!
Hundreds of workers left REFER workshops due to lack of working conditions. They could not buy spare parts or the steel with which to make them. There are hundreds of carriages, many locomotives and self-propelled wagons standing idle for years. It is much faster and cheaper to clear the money for the materials and re-hire the workers.
5. BASIC ERRORS: Fine to say that in five years there will be a cargo railway line from the port of Sines to Spain. The project is for Iberian gauge, which benefits a Spanish cartel to transfer cargo to the EU gauge in Badajoz. Ten years ago there was a project for double gauge, which would reduce this extra profit to the cartel.
"There are hundreds of carriages, many locomotives and self-propelled wagons standing idle for years. It is much faster and cheaper to clear the money for the materials and re-hire the workers"
6. IGNORING EXPERTS: Dozens of experts invested their free time detailing a Strategic Transport Plan - this was ten years ago. This would have used EU funds so we have lost €0.5 billion over the past five years.
Electrify the line and use Alfa to Beja airport from Faro + Lisbon. It's cheaper and better than Montijo. Also airfreight from the Americas, rail to Europe. Use tram-train, similar to the Porto metro, to replace the old regional trains in Greater Lisbon, Coimbra, Porto. It reduces pollution and time wasted, sat in cars. In the Algarve, with €36 million, the chaos of summer traffic will be reduced.
Voters don’t trust you, Costa. Sack the minister, or we'll have chaos by 2019.
© Jack Soifer 2019
