Socialists Win Second Term
The results of Sunday's general election in Portugal saw the Socialist Prime Minister Jose Socrates win a second term, though his centre-left party lost its absolute majority in the Portuguese parliament.
The Socialists won roughly 37% of the vote, compared with 45% in the 2005 poll. Turnout was low as the Socialists held on to 96 seats, down from 121 in the previous general election.
Unemployment and debt are both high in Portugal with 9.1% of the workforce out of a job and the national debt at around 5.9% of gross domestic product.
Leftists had strong gains, rising to around 10% of the vote.
Socrates has proposed a number of big-spending infrastructure projects, including a high-speed rail link to Spain and a new Lisbon airport to stimulate the moribund Portuguese economy.
Neither of these projects have yet to be realized.
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| Socialists Win Second Term |
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