A survey by the polling company Eurosondagem has been picked up by Reuters and shows the Socialist Party slipping 0.5% to 35.5% of the vote with the government coalition down one point to 34%.
With just over two weeks to go before the general election the two main contenders are neck and neck with neither likely to form a government with a clear majority.
International analysts agree that a majority government is preferable if Portugal is to maintain the small but evident impetus that has seen key economic indicators start to edge in the right direction.
With the socialist party lead, albeit miniscule, projections point to António Costa commanding 95 to 101 seats and the coalition having 99 to 102 seats in the 230 seat national assembly.
Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho is sticking to an election strategy that emphasises the coalition’s record of managing the country through the current deep recession with a now growing economy.
The PM certainly has not been spending time dwelling on the austerity measures that have seen pensions cut, taxes rise and penalties for non-compliance wielded with indiscriminate glee.
Costa has been non-committal or simply vague on some areas of policy but pledges to raise disposable income levels, aware of the fact that many elections are won simply by appealing to people’s pockets.
The Eurosondagem poll was carried out after the final TV debate between the two party leaders but before the radio debate this week which saw Costas’ policy cover blown under an ill-tempered onslaught by the PM.
