commentary

Saturday 6th July 2024. There are no limits to the imagination, are there? I can just envisage the first major European tour operator cancelling all trips to Portugal this year, showing the government that the tourist industry acts responsibly and takes care of its customers – especially in the event of illness. I no longer recommend travelling to Portugal, especially to the Algarve. This is because the government – no matter whether it is socialist or conservative – has run Portugal’s healthcare system into the ground, to such an extent that people no longer dare to become ill. If you …

Saturday 19th August 2023. Communication between two people can only work well if they speak a common language. Isn’t that right? So, if a British guy strikes up a conversation in English with a Portuguese lady, without being able to speak Portuguese or any other language himself (as is usually the case), and the Portuguese lady doesn’t want to speak English, then the conversation will hit a dead end. End of story? Far from it. This story is only just starting. Communication is a fascinating topic. As a reader of ECO123, you are free to choose the language you prefer. …

Saturday the 29 July 2023. Young people are our societyꞌs most valuable resource. Is that true? If young people choose to glue themselves to the tarmac it is always for a deeper reason. It is something we adults have to face and not belittle their actions as just a pubescent or even terrorist act of violence. Reason is always connected to stages in development. Reason has to mature. Sometimes young people in groups will do things they would never do on their own. And sometimes these things are simply necessary. Cognitive control only develops in puberty. For us as adults …

Saturday the 8th of July 2023. None of the following is a joke. You wanted to read a story by me? You will get this story. Right here, right now. Imagine you had an accident in your youth. Maybe a sporting accident, playing basketball, say – or a motorbike crash on a rural road – or an accident at work on one of the many constructions sites of the Algarve… or anywhere else between Beja and Faro. So you are taken to hospital, to be operated on the spine. An operation that is not straightforward, taking up many hours. When …

At some point I decided to no longer allow money to occupy such a prominent position in my life. I try to remain true to myself and not do anything for money that I wouldn’t do without receiving money for it. This is not the same thing as renouncing money completely. I do have to have something to live on. And I too love to be paid fairly for what I do. However, I don’t want to be a wage slave, I don’t want to sell myself, my work and the time available to me in this life so I …

At the last municipal elections, I made a mistake. After having chosen the wrong candidate in the two previous electoral periods (since the policies that they adopt in practice are only recognised much later), at the last elections I didn’t even vote. I thought to myself that, when you have to choose between a bad candidate and an even worse candidate, it’s better to stay at home or put on a yellow vest and go down to the town hall to open some windows (see what happened in France), so that some fresh air can enter the offices where bureaucracy …