Portugal begins job of clarifying government’s future

The poster belongs to the new leftist party Livre, or Free, which failed to win any seats in parliament. Rajoy’s government has imposed deep spending cuts and faces challenges from anti-austerity radicals like the Podemos party but growth has returned to the country and Rajoy hopes that will pay dividends at the ballot box. But it will be outnumbered by left-of-center parties in the 230-seat Parliament where it is shy of a 116-seat outright majority.

Only one minority government in Portugal has ever completed its four-year term.

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the eurozone’s top official, confessed he found the election outcome “ambiguous” and noted that “democracy… doesn’t always bring stability”.

“This is the time for compromise”, President Anibal Cavaco Silva said in a televised address to the nation.

At stake are debt-reduction measures and reforms that were created to help the eurozone country’s economy recover from a 78 billion euro ($87 billion) bailout in 2011 and a subsequent three-year recession. Polls showed the center-right ruling coalition winning over the center-left Socialist Party, the main opposition on Sunday. The Left Bloc, which got 19 seats, wants to renegotiate the national debt, demand better repayment terms from the country’s creditors, and end austerity measures while increasing corporate tax. CDU, Democratic Unitarian Coalition which is a coalition by Portuguese Communist Party and Ecological Party (The Greens) secured 17 seats, the website added.

Before naming the prime minister, Cavaco must talk to all political leaders whose parties have a parliament representation, with discussions likely to take most of next week.