Portuguese crisis has parallels with Ireland

Portugal is the latest European battleground on austerity, with the probability that the right-wing government will fall on Tuesday

Leftist parties may still get their chance to rule the Portuguese parliament Pic: Bloomberg

How did we come to this?

On October 4, Portugal held legislative elections for its 230-seat parliament, pitting the left and the right against each other. The two main right-wing parties won 107 seats together, while the three main left-wing parties won 122 seats.

However, the party that won the most seats on its own is the right-wing PSD, which got 89. It is led by Passos Coelho. President Cavaco Silva then asked ...