Portugal braced for harsh cuts after ruling

Portugal’s prime minister last night told his country to brace for harder times after a court ruling forced his government to find more savings through spending cuts.

Pedro Passos Coelho said in a sombre televised address that, despite two years of corrosive austerity measures since Portugal’s international financial rescue, his centre-right government must slash public services because of a Constitutional Court decision to disallow some of its latest tax hikes.

A crackdown on public spending will focus on social security, education, health services, and state-run companies, he said.