LISBON, Portugal – An international agreement to save Portugal from financial disaster with an estimated euro80 billion ($116 billion) rescue package could yet come unstuck as the country's political parties quarrel over its terms.
European finance ministers have agreed to put up the money Portugal needs, making it the third country in the 17-nation eurozone to accept help.
But a domestic political row about the scope and terms of the bailout threaten to slow negotiations and prolong Portugal's plight.
Vanessa Rossi, a Chatham House analyst, said Monday "it's not exactly what you'd want when you're in the middle of a disaster of this kind."
A delegation from the International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and European Commission is expected in Lisbon on Tuesday.
