Portugal believes in the future again

<h5>On this sunny morning&amp;comma; it's hard to make your way along Rua da Prata&amp;comma; in the heart of Lisbon&amp;period; A group of Japanese retirees huddle in front of the window of a traditional cannery&amp;comma; where revisited sardine recipes are sold at a premium&amp;period;<&sol;h5>&amp;NewLine;<p>Across the street&amp;comma; a souvenir seller displays a collection of cork bracelets as an embracing couple looks on&amp;period; <em>"When we moved here&amp;comma; seven years ago&amp;comma; the buildings were falling apart and I was afraid to walk alone in the deserted streets"&amp;comma;<&sol;em> recalls Ana Santiago, one of the directors of the Startup Lisboa incubator.<em>&amp;period;<&sol;em><&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;<h5>European start-up founders fight for a place in the Startup Lisboa incubator<&sol;h5>&amp;NewLine;<p>At the time&amp;comma; the Portuguese capital's coffers were empty&amp;period; the country&amp;comma; was in the throes of a recession&amp;comma; under the grip of austerity policies&amp;period; ready to do anything to save the city&amp;comma; the mayor's office set up a start-up centre in the decaying city centre&amp;period; the gamble was daring&amp;comma; but it worked&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;<p>Today&amp;comma; European start-up founders are fighting for a place in the incubator&amp;comma; which has spread to other districts&amp;period; As for tourists&amp;comma; they storm the historic streets&amp;comma; their noses raised at the renovated facades&amp;period; <em>"During the crisis, we lost everything, including our fear.<&sol;em>&amp;comma; summarizes Ana&amp;period; <em>That's what gave us the strength to stand up&amp;period;"<&sol;em><&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;<p>Something has changed in Portugal&amp;period; It's not just the boom in Lisbon tourism&amp;period; Nor the good figures for renewed growth&amp;period; In 2017&amp;comma; gross domestic product &amp;lpar;GDP&amp;rpar; grew by 2&amp;comma;7 &amp;percnt;&amp;comma; at its highest for ten years&amp;period; The unemployment rate fell back below 8 &amp;percnt;&amp;comma; far from the peak of 17 &amp;percnt; reached in 2013&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;