Socialist Prime Minister Antonio Costa is fighting for his political life after a late surge by the centre-right opposition PSD party clawed away his side’s once comfortable poll lead. The prospect of another weak minority government comes as Portugal is trying to boost its tourism-dependent economy which has been badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic. “Portugal needs stability after these two difficult years of fighting against the pandemic,” Costa, in office since 2015, told a final rally in second-city Porto on Friday. – Far-right ‘hostage’ –Chega, which translates as “Enough”, entered parliament for the first time with a single seat during the last election in 2019. Turnout stood at 45.7 percent as of 4:00 pm (1600 GMT), according to the interior ministry, compared to 38.6 percent during the last election in 2019.

Source: Daily Nation January 30, 2022 22:22 UTC