“The blackout is not the Government’s responsibility. What is the Government’s responsibility is to communicate with the Portuguese people during a crisis. The truth is that it did not have that capacity and wanted to center communications on itself,” Pedro Nuno Santos stated to journalists after concluding a visit to the Hospital de Santa Maria in Lisbon.
The Secretary-General of the Socialist Party criticized the delayed SMS sent to the Portuguese populace, noting that by the time it was sent, “there were no communication conditions for it to reach [the people]” and electricity was “already being restored.”
“The Government did not do its job well, particularly in communicating with the Portuguese people and in coordinating, especially with municipal civil protection services,” he emphasized, underlining that throughout Monday there was neither Government presence nor Civil Protection.
Pedro Nuno Santos also clarified that today’s visit to the Hospital de Santa Maria was not prompted by Monday’s blackout, mentioning that it was planned for Sunday.
The blackout on Monday occurred at 11:33 AM local time in Lisbon and impacted the entire territory of mainland Portugal and Spain, as well as some areas in southern France.
