LISBON, Portugal – Can a center-right government that has cut pay and pensions, enacted steep tax increases and slashed public services win re-election?
In Portugal, just maybe.
As the country began the official campaign period for its Oct. 4 general election Sunday, opinion polls suggest the center-right coalition government is roughly level with the main opposition Socialist Party.
The government adopted unpopular austerity policies, complying with the terms of a 78 billion euro (then $102 billion) bailout Portugal received in 2011 during the eurozone financial crisis. With the frail economy now showing signs of recovery, the government says Portugal cannot afford a return to borrow-and-spend policies.
The center-left Socialists, while promising to stick to eurozone spending rules, want to ease austerity and spur consumption that they say will make the economy grow faster.
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