The 2011 Portuguese Election: Looking for a way out

Abstract

The 2011 Portuguese election took place under extraordinary conditions: the EU–ECB–IMF troika had just bailed out the country that was facing its worst crisis in the last century. So´ crates’ minority government was not able to deliver the necessary stability to conduct the reforms to restore the economic outlook and tackle the shockwaves of the international debt crisis. Hence, after six years of Socialist government, the call for early elections and the winning of a majority by the centre-right parties appeared the natural alternative.