[en] In earlier works, we proposed a model for the nuclear potential of α-nucleus systems which is energy independent and has no adjustable parameters. This interaction has been successfully applied in the description of fusion, elastic and inelastic scattering data for many of those systems in regions of low energy. In the present work, we assume the same interaction as the bare potential to study the elastic scattering for α + "2"0"8Pb in a wide energy range. We demonstrate that the corresponding data set can be described if couplings to inelastic states with high excitation energy are explicitly considered through coupled-channel calculations. (paper)