Thanks, as I said, I was not completely sure of the data (and time is scarce in the next few days to do proper research).

Just one note (very side): I normally exclude transportation comparisons with the Netherlands as it is an extreme outlier country in many ways (population density, terrain). I simply have no expectation for CP to be compared to NS, because it is impossible.

But the destruction of passenger train transport (especially to rural areas) has been a "feature" of Portugal in the last 25 years.

And bikes are seen as transport for China. From a cultural perspective they are a no-no. And no, while Lisbon is in fact an hilly city, the areas where people go around their business are mostly flat: that is a bad excuse. It is not uncommon for people to justify their opposition to bikes with... rain.

This all to say that the investment in renewables is not "forced by the people" but tied to a very small elite connected to a faction of the Socialist Party. If I may speculate this will not last over 2011 (I expect the parliament to fall in 2011 and the alternative party to win the elections).

Disclaimer: This issue (energy) was the sole reason that made me fly from the middle of the US to vote in the current "socialist" party (read: right of Angela Merkel kind of socialism).