Roundup: Portuguese main political parties start election campaign

Portugal's ruling Socialist Democratic Party (PSD) and the main opposition Socialist Party (PS) have recently started their election campaigns, focusing on the country's austerity drive, which has caused conflict between them for the past years.

In 2011, the PSD and the People's Party (CDS-PP) went to the general elections separately, forming a coalition after the elections.

The PSD overtook the Socialist Party, whose head, Jose Socrates, resigned after having announced that the country would require help by the troika of the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank.

Four years later, on April 25, the PSD and CDS-PP announced that they had joined hands in the upcoming general elections to compete with the PS.

The ruling coalition has been implementing a harsh austerity program from 2011 until last year, under the 78 billion euro bailout package it signed with the troika in May that year.

Portugal's economy is slowly improving.

Last year the country saw its first year of economic growth since 2011 of 0.9 percent of GDP.

That relatively slow progress came at a high price for the Portuguese though, with the country suffering a rise in poverty and social exclusion.

The unemployment rate still stands at a staggering 13.7 percent despite dropping 2.3 percentage points last year.

Socialist leader Antonio Costa says he wants to turn around the gloomy picture for the Portuguese, promising to create more employment and boost salaries.

While the ruling party has sneered at his anti-austerity stance and warned that his macroeconomic plan, which he presented last Tuesday, risks "bringing the troika back to Portugal", Costa has insisted that putting an end to austerity is possible.

"The path of continuing with the troika would be to continue with this government," Costa said at parliament last week.

The Socialist party is now almost neck-and-neck with the ruling coalition.

Analysts say the coalition forming an alliance for the general elections reflects a lack of confidence.

"It's a tactical option which gives them (the government) higher chances of winning more seats, showing up stronger than the Socialists and thus being able to continue their policy," Political analyst Andre Freire, Professor at the Lisbon University Institute (ISCTE-IUL) told Xinhua.

The center-right Socialists are ahead on around 37.5 percent, according to a recent poll, while the ruling coaliton parties garner around 34.7 percent of the votes.

"It's a paradox," Freire said. "The various polls show that people are pretty unhappy with the government's policies. So it could have to do with major parties finding difficulty in differentiating themselves in the European context and presenting alternative policies."

He adds: "The Socialists have a high probability of winning the elections, the real issue is the victory margin between both parties and the alliances that will need to be formed."

The Portuguese seem unlikely to back a radical alternative as has been the case with the left-wing Syriza-led party in Greece, despite austerity having left deep wounds.

However Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho has faced tough criticism at home for refusing to rewrite the rules on its bailout package, which came to an end in May last year.

The prime minister insists that austerity is necessary and expects the economy to grow 1.6 percent in 2015.

"There has never been a coalition in Portugal with such stability. This alliance intends to achieve the country's recovery," Passos Coelho said.

Portugal's general elections are expected to take place in October. Endit