Portugal’s leftist opposition topples government

Left wing parties ousted Portugal’s ruling centre-right coalition on Tuesday (10 November), only 10 days after it came into power, paving the way for a Socialist-led government that could end years of austerity under the EU's bailout programme.

In the first such move against an elected government since the birth of a democratic Portugal in 1974, an unprecedented coalition between the Socialist Party (PS) and the Communist Party, joined by the newcomer Left Bloc, toppled the government ...