Sometimes politics can be very frustrating. I think it’s a feeling shared by many people, from the most to the least involved. I confess that I feel this way often, for various reasons, and that is how I started this Christmas break. Until a concrete thing was shared among people from the LIVRE office in parliament in which we played an essential role. And the discouragement I felt disappeared, because it was a reminder of what politics is, what politics is for and the best way to do it.
The sharing was from the SNS campaign to the National Suicide Prevention Line (1411). The campaign is very impactful and reminds us that we all have an important role in being aware and taking care of each other. This line was created for this reason – to support those who need help in the most difficult times and to ensure that there is always someone they can turn to. It is a step towards the continued building of community which, for me, is the goal of politics: the construction and consolidation of a society where support and mutual help allow each of us to live, prosper, trust, grow and fulfill ourselves.
Since September, when it was launched, this line has received more than 5000 calls, which clearly shows its importance. This line saves lives.
But it was also thinking about the way this line was born that also brought my spirit back. The idea of a specific line for the prevention of suicidal behavior was born from civil society, from a group of citizens who came together in the summer of 2023 to make a petition demanding it. LIVRE listened to them and, even without waiting for the petition to go through the usual route of petitions in the Assembly of the Republic, it presented the bill for the creation of this line in September 2023. Still with the absolute majority of the Socialist Party, the project was unanimously approved by all parties in the Assembly of the Republic, the work on fine-tuning the project in the specialty was quick, and in February 2024 Law 17/2024 was published, which creates the National Line for the prevention of suicide and self-injurious behavior. However, the government changed but the desire to implement the line continued. Finally in September 2025, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline – with the number 1411 – was launched and has been in operation ever since, helping thousands of people.
In other words, an idea is now a reality because it was born from civil society, it was worked on in a small office of just one deputy, it was discussed and improved in parliament, it was approved by all parties, it was implemented by a new government and it is being put into practice by several professionals every day. And, now for this Christmas and festive season, which is particularly difficult for some people and families, a team of communications and healthcare professionals has developed a campaign to remind them that the line exists and is there to help them. From the birth to the implementation of the idea, there are thousands of people involved in the construction of this reality that helps specific people. And that is the encouragement that politics brings me: when we manage, together and with all our differences, to build a community where we are there for each other.
My wish for this year 2026 is that there will be much more of this policy of encouragement, construction, support and mutual care. In fact, politics of love for others.
If you need help, call:
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National Suicide Prevention Line – 1411
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In case of emergency, life-threatening, call INEM 112 immediately