The words of the head of McKinsey are clear: Portugal can double its GDP by 2040, grow at five percent per year and converge with Europe again. But for this it needs a new collective attitude, a profound and structural change in the way we face work, the economy and national ambition.

What is lacking is not talent, nor technical ability. We lack political courage and civic determination. The country has the right foundations, quality universities, internationally recognized engineers, green energy at competitive costs and an enviable strategic location. But we are still tied to ideologies of the past and to a cumbersome and slow administrative structure, which hinders innovation and penalizes investment.

It is time to roll up our sleeves. We need courageous reforms in labor laws which guarantee workers' rights, but also justice and balance for those who create jobs. Today, in Portugal, the employer bears almost alone the burden of obligations, while national productivity remains among the lowest in the European Union. A country that wants to compete globally cannot sustain a system in which merit, effort and productivity are secondary.

It is not enough to attract investment; it is necessary to create the conditions for it to flourish. And this involves a profound, almost revolutionary reform of the Public Administration, the Municipalities, and the national bureaucratic system. The State should be a partner and facilitator, not an obstacle. The slowness of processes, overlapping skills, and the excess of regulators create a labyrinth that demotivates investors and suffocates entrepreneurs.

As McKinsey rightly points out, administrative simplification is an engine of economic growth. If a licensing that currently takes three years were to be resolved in one, the country would gain competitiveness, trust, and attractiveness. The investor does not ask for miracles, he asks for predictability, transparency, and speed.

We also need to rethink the role of companies. Many remain stuck in a vision of survival, with little ambition for growth and little investment in innovation. It is necessary to encourage mergers, partnerships, internationalization, and investment in research. Portugal will only gain scale and global relevance when it can get its companies to grow and export added value, and not just low-cost products or services.

The McKinsey interview also reminds us that the technological revolution is just around the corner, and the country cannot stand by and watch it pass. Artificial intelligence, electrification, the digital economy, and green energy are the new frontiers of development. Portugal has all the conditions to be a European center in these areas, but it must organize itself for that. We cannot continue to lose talent abroad because here progress is made slowly.

The training and requalification of workers will be essential on this path. There is no productive transformation without human qualification. An ambitious retraining plan is needed to prepare teachers, engineers, doctors, lawyers and technicians for the new digital tools and the intelligent use of artificial intelligence. This is not fiction, it is necessity.

At the same time, we need a new political culture. The courage to reform the country cannot be confused with austerity. It is about unleashing the country's potential, not punishing it. Reforming labor laws, simplifying processes, reducing bureaucracy, and creating a competitive technological ecosystem are steps that value those who work and those who invest, instead of putting them on opposite sides.

Portugal is small, but that is an advantage. As José Pimenta da Gama said, four or five large well-executed projects are enough to change the destiny of the country. Imagine if we could create five Autoeuropas in sectors such as technology, energy, health, and smart tourism. The impact would be gigantic.

The country has everything, talent, stability, sunshine, security, and quality of life. He only lacks ambition and courage to act. We need leaders who look forward to them and citizens who demand results.

The time has come to make Portugal a country of well-being and opportunities, not only for those who visit us, but for those who live and work in Redondo, Mangualde or Lisbon. The future is not built with speeches, it is built with action, responsibility, and vision.

What is lacking is not capacity. We need to believe that the future is conquered with work and courage. And that is the real revolution that Portugal needs to make.