A few days ago I came back from a week in Portugal, this time on an autumn holiday. The pleasant visit brought back many memories from my many visits to this beautiful country. Atlantic, not Mediterranean, and this one can both see and feel.
The first time I was there was in 1975 when the Salazar dictatorship had just been overthrown and the country’s trade unions could once again celebrate a free First of May. I brought the greetings of the Finnish trade union confederation to a huge manifestation in Porto, speaking to a crowd of quarter of a million that filled all open spaces and narrow streets in the historical old town.
The Portuguese trade unions also hosted a major athletics event at the stadium in Lisbon. They asked me to assist in the medal ceremony for 10,000 meters as I came from Finland with its glorious (but old) traditions. The winner Carlos Lopes to whom I presented the gold medal was to go on and take silver on 5,000 meters at the Montreal Olympics the following year, after Finland’s (!) Lasse Virén. Later he won the Olympic gold medal in Los Angeles in 1984, in marathon.
A few years later I was in Portugal again with my Nordic trade union colleagues. The first euphoria had calmed down, for good and worse, and the country was struggling with very concrete everyday challenges.
This was a period in Portugal which was filled by celebration and eagerness to build up a new kind of society after the harsh years of the dictatorship. One can only hope that the country will get over its present economic and thus also social problems and go towards a good future. These are hard working people who have already overcome so many problems that one can be optimistic about this.
My years at UNI then brought me back several times, and it was always very pleasant and inspiring to work and spend time with the Portuguese colleagues. They were also regular and active participants in the European Union social dialogue in commerce.
This most recent visit convinced me, once again, that the European Union needs to stick together and face the challenges that we have in a spirit of solidarity and mutual support. There have been times and occasions when my own country Finland needed – and also got – support from the outside world.
Sticking together is also a part of our common identity as Europeans, which is more valuable than we often remember to reflect on.