Portugal set to vote for centre-right government

THE Portuguese went to the polls yesterday to elect a new government which will lead the nation through a period of deep austerity and recession after it received a €78 billion bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

The election will end a period of political uncertainty that started with the collapse of the Socialist government in March and led to Portugal becoming the third country in the eurozone to seek a bailout after Greece and Ireland.

With unemployment at its highest level in three decades, the Portuguese are expected to reject caretaker prime minister Jose Socrates and turn to opposition centre-right Social Democrat Pedro Passos Coelho.