Roundup: Portugal's poll before elections puts ruling coalition ahead

An opinion tracking poll published by Intercampus on Tuesday puts the country's center-right ruling coalition ahead of the center-left Socialist party in the run-up to the general elections on October 4.

The poll by Intercampus put the ruling coalition's alliance Forward Portugal at 31.2 percent of voting intentions and the Socialist Party at 28.6 percent.

According to the tracking poll the coalition could be far from obtaining an absolute majority.

This tracking poll by Intercampus compared to another Intercampus poll published on July 8 by Publico shows that the ruling coalition has seen a marked rise, though other polls published recently show much closer results.

Political analyst Antonio Costa Pinto said polls released next week will show more rigorous results but said that the current situation of both parties seemingly running neck and neck is due to the Social Democrats recovering part of its electorate.

"Part of the electorate which was unhappy with austerity has been recovered because they are sensitive to their discourse that the Socialists could lead the country to bankruptcy," he tells Xinhua.

The Portuguese have opted for less radical leaders despite almost four years of harsh austerity measures imposed under the 78 billion euro bailout program the country signed when it was on the verge of bankruptcy.

The Socialist party has criticized the ruling coalition for spending cuts and tax hikes but Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho has insisted that it has made economic recovery possible, drawing voters away from radical parties in Portugal such as Syriza in Greece.

"We have come to a time where unemployment is decreasing and employment is beginning to show there is light at the end of the tunnel, better times to come, with more economic growth and more growth of employment," Passos Coelho said recently at a pre-election campaign.

Passos Coelho has also insisted he is not to blame for the dire situation the country faced in 2011 when the Socialists had to ask for a bailout.

Eurostat revealed last Tuesday that Portugal and Greece registered the greatest growth of employment, 1.4 percent and 1.3 percent respectively, in the second quarter of 2015 compared with the previous quarter.

Portugal's economy returned back to growth last year, with the Portuguese economy growing 1.5 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter of this year as investment and household spending rose, according to figures released recently by the Portuguese National Institute of Statistics.

To further highlight the country's economic progress before the elections, Ratings agency Standard & Poor's raised Portugal's credit rating on Friday to BB+, a level before investment grade.

However the Portuguese have had to face serious pay cuts and job losses under the program and thousands of young people have been forced to flee the country in search of opportunities.

The measures have been deeply unpopular reflected by the protests across the country in past years and the Socialist party says it wants to reverse austerity give the economy a boost, claiming that the government has manipulated the country's real situation. Endit