LISBON, Portugal— Can a center-right government that has cut pay and pensions, enacted steep tax increases and slashed public services win re-election?
In Portugal, just maybe.
The country began the official campaign period for its Oct. 4 general election Sunday, and opinion polls in recent weeks have suggested the center-right coalition government is roughly level with the main opposition Socialist Party.
Over the past four years the government has adopted unpopular austerity policies as it complied with the terms of a 78 billion euro (then $102 billion) bailout Portugal received in 2011 during the eurozone financial crisis. With the frail economy showing signs of recovery, the government argues that Portugal cannot afford a return to borrow-and-spend policies.
The center-left Socialists, while promising to stick to eurozone spending rules, want to ease austerity and spur consumption that they say will make the economy grow faster.
The governing Social Democratic Party and Popular Party, and the Socialists, are together expected to collect more than 70 percent of the vote, as in previous ballots.
Moderate parties have traditionally held power in Portugal and even though austerity policies are at the heart of the election, Portugal has not witnessed the rise of any radical parties like Syriza in Greece, or Podemos in neighboring Spain.
