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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Portugal election: Vote amid bail-out austerity | Portugal election: Vote amid bail-out austerity |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Voters in Portugal are going to the polls to choose a new government which will implement a demanding 78bn euro ($116bn; £70bn) bail-out. | |
| Opinion polls suggest the opposition centre-right Social Democrats (PSD) lead the governing Socialists, but not by enough to form a majority. | |
| Analysts say the PSD may try to form a coalition with the third-ranked CDS. | Analysts say the PSD may try to form a coalition with the third-ranked CDS. |
| All the main parties endorsed the bail-out, which requires tough austerity measures amid a faltering economy. | All the main parties endorsed the bail-out, which requires tough austerity measures amid a faltering economy. |
| Socialist leader Jose Socrates resigned as prime minister in March, triggering early elections after the opposition in parliament rejected his minority government's fourth austerity package in less than a year. | Socialist leader Jose Socrates resigned as prime minister in March, triggering early elections after the opposition in parliament rejected his minority government's fourth austerity package in less than a year. |
| Since then, he has acted as caretaker prime minister. | Since then, he has acted as caretaker prime minister. |
| 'Politically difficult' | 'Politically difficult' |
| Portugal is faced with unemployment of more than 12% and an economy that is expected to contract by 2% this year and next. | Portugal is faced with unemployment of more than 12% and an economy that is expected to contract by 2% this year and next. |
| Polls suggest the centre-right Social Democrats will win nearly 37% of the vote, compared to about 31% for the Socialists. | Polls suggest the centre-right Social Democrats will win nearly 37% of the vote, compared to about 31% for the Socialists. |
| Party leader Pedro Passos Coelho suggested this week that he was the preferred candidate of donors to the bail-out fund. | Party leader Pedro Passos Coelho suggested this week that he was the preferred candidate of donors to the bail-out fund. |
| "We are going to cut state waste and excesses while finding a way for the needy to get what they need," he told supporters. | "We are going to cut state waste and excesses while finding a way for the needy to get what they need," he told supporters. |
| Mr Socrates has accused the Social Democrats of pursuing a "radical right-wing agenda" and criticises Mr Passos Coelho for lacking experience in government. | Mr Socrates has accused the Social Democrats of pursuing a "radical right-wing agenda" and criticises Mr Passos Coelho for lacking experience in government. |
| "If you think social protection programs are important, vote for the Socialist Party because our policies ensure the welfare state," he told a party rally on Friday. | "If you think social protection programs are important, vote for the Socialist Party because our policies ensure the welfare state," he told a party rally on Friday. |
| Whoever wins on Sunday will have to enact urgent and far-reaching social and fiscal reforms, including more austerity measures, to restore national fiscal health and encourage growth. | Whoever wins on Sunday will have to enact urgent and far-reaching social and fiscal reforms, including more austerity measures, to restore national fiscal health and encourage growth. |
| The terms of the bail-out call for tax hikes, a freeze on state pensions and salaries and cuts in unemployment benefits. | The terms of the bail-out call for tax hikes, a freeze on state pensions and salaries and cuts in unemployment benefits. |
| "The road with this package is long and filled with reforms which may be politically difficult to pass," Diego Iscaro, an economist at IHS Global Insight, told Reuters news agency. | "The road with this package is long and filled with reforms which may be politically difficult to pass," Diego Iscaro, an economist at IHS Global Insight, told Reuters news agency. |