Communication failed because it is geared towards propaganda, not crisis management. Only five days later did the government manage to look like more than a crowd of ministers wandering around the city centre. Leitão Amaro’s film was not a slip-up; it was an automatic response, confirmed by Nuno Melo’s numbers. This is what remains after two years of PowerPoints and governance driven by perception. This is not a government. It is a communications agency with executive powers.