Ahead of Election, Portuguese Undecided on Country's Future

Millions of Portuguese voters will head to the polls Sunday in a close election that will decide whether the country keeps its pro-austerity government or chooses a new path led by the country’s left-wing bloc.

The latest opinion polls suggest the winner will be Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho’s “Portugal Ahead” coalition, which consists of the center-right Social Democratic Party and the conservative Popular Party. The coalition is in the lead despite enacting draconian austerity measures enforced by European financial institutions.

Currently, the governing coalition enjoys 35.5 to 40.3 percent support, according to opinion polls, versus 31.8 to 36 percent for the Left Bloc.

Their victory, however, is far from certain. A survey by local news agency Publico found that 20 percent of the electorate is still undecided, while state TV channel RTP found the number is even higher at 27 percent.

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Those figures suggest the election could still tilt in the favor of the Left Bloc. The bloc, which has seen its support grow substantially in recent years, favors the preservation of social services and welfare benefits that the current government is looking to cut.

After ascending to power in the wake of an economic crisis, Prime Minister Coelho and his coalition slashed public spending based on recommendations made by the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund. That was followed by a significant drop in unemployment, from 17.5 percent in 2013 to 12 percent today.

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Portugal nonetheless continues to suffer from extremely high rates of economic deprivation. One in five Portuguese citizens live under the official poverty line, earning less than 5,000 euro a year (US$5,600). Another 3 million people are in danger of falling into poverty, according to independent analyses.

Still, while many Portuguese citizens may desire change, they are concerned by recent events in Greece, where a party elected on a promise to end austerity capitulated to the demands of its creditors.

"The attempt by Greece's Syriza party to put an end to austerity has failed,” political analyst Jose Antonio Passos Palmeira told AFP. "Suddenly Portuguese voters see that there really is no alternative."