Portugal's center-right leads run for government

Portugal's right-wing opposition parties have consolidated their lead in latest polls ahead of a general election on Sunday, when voters will choose a new government to implement a bailout agreement for the debt-burdened country.

According to latest polls, the center-right Social Democratic Party (PSD) has gained about 36 to 39 percent support, with its historic ally, the smaller rightist CDS party, collecting 9 to 13 percent of the votes.

Meanwhile, the governing Socialists of Jose Socrates, the caretaker prime minister, only garnered 31 to 34 percent in the polls.

The two right-wing parties have already said they hoped to form a coalition to overthrow the Socialists, which has been the ruling party during the last six years of Portugal's decline.

But under Portugal's system of proportional representation, it is not clear whether their combined vote of around 49 percent would be enough to secure a stable majority in parliament.

Analysts have pointed out the campaign lacks political discussions as "the three parties had signed off on the same terms" to carry out tough deficit reduction programs under a 78-billion-euro (112 billion US dollars) bailout as agreed with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, said political analyst Francisco Sarsfield Cabral.

Under the three-year EU-IMF bailout package, the Spanish government will have to reduce government expenditure, raise taxes, and carry out reforms to boost competitiveness, all of which are expected to lead to a 2 percent economic contraction both this year and next.

"None of the three parties mentioned the bailout package in the campaign," said Andre Freire, professor of political studies. "The only parties that brought the issue forward were the Left Bloc and the Communists," small leftist parties trailing far behind in the polls.

Avoiding larger questions looming over the country, party leaders switched to personal quarrels trying to disqualify their opponents.

Socrates has repeatedly said PSD leader Pedro Passos Coelho is immature and incapable of making decisions, blaming the opposition leader for the defeat of his cut plan in the parliament that led to his resignation in March.

Five days after the parliament vote, rating agency Standard &Poor degraded Portugal's credit ratings to one level above junk status.

On the other hand, Coelho accused the prime minister of lying to the Portuguese, concealing the severity of the economic situation and being responsible for the bankruptcy of the country. He said his party voted against the measures because they were insufficient, ill-conceived and did not address the real problems of the Portuguese economy.

Analysts said the CDS is likely to be the one with more gains. Unless the PSD obtains 50 percent of the parliament, CDS leader Paulo Portas will be in government no matter who wins and will have a strong bargaining position.

Unemployment at 12.4 percent is the highest on record. So far workers' protests and strikes have been tamed but analysts warn they could escalate as austerity measures deepen.