LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal's center-right coalition government will likely be re-elected despite enacting unpopular austerity measures to tackle the country's debt problems, according to an exit poll after Sunday's election. The poll on public broadcaster Radiotelevisao Portuguesa gave the center-right coalition government between 38 to 43 percent of votes. The main opposition center-left Socialist Party came second with 30 to 35 percent, it said. At the headquarters of the coalition, made up of the Social Democratic Party and its junior partner, the Popular Party, supporters erupted in cheers when the exit polls appeared and chanted "Victory! Victory!" Socialist officials, meanwhile, were stunned and some were tearful. Portugal needed a 78 billion-euro ($87 billion) bailout in 2011 amid the Eurozone's financial crisis. Complying with creditors' demands, the government has cut pay, pensions and public services and increased taxes since then. Similar measures have brought a backlash against governments in other Eurozone countries, and Portugal also witnessed large street protests and numerous strikes. But economic improvements in recent times and Portugal's traditional preference for moderate parties — as well as fears of knocking the recovery off-track — appeared to help the government to another four-year term. The Portuguese government's showing will give heart to Mariano Rajoy's conservative government in neighboring Spain, which faces an election Dec. 20. Rajoy's government has imposed deep cuts, but growth has returned to the country. In Portugal, radical alternatives to the mainstream parties failed to exploit public discontent over austerity. The government's policies were part of a German-led Eurozone plan to restore the 19-nation bloc's financial health following its debt crisis. The government warned the country can't afford to go back to the borrow-and-spend programs of the past and must remain frugal till its debt load is lower. The spending cuts and tax hikes helped propel Portugal into a three-year recession. But this year the economy is improving, and incumbent Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho argued that austerity is paying off. The economy grew 1.5 percent in the first half of this year compared with the same period in 2014. The unemployment rate has fallen from a record 17.7 percent in 2013 to 12.3 percent last July. The Socialist Party promised to start easing the tax burden and speed up growth through domestic consumption. But the Socialists bear the stigma of having led Portugal to the brink of bankruptcy four years ago. With no radical anti-austerity parties like Greece's Syriza emerging in Portugal, protest votes went to the Left Bloc, which the exit poll indicated would get 8 to 11 percent — its best-ever result — and the Communist Party, which was expected to get 7 to 9 percent. The Communist Party wants Portugal out of the Eurozone. The Left Bloc wants to renegotiate the national debt, demanding better repayment terms from creditors, and end austerity measures while increasing corporate tax. Those two alternatives apparently took votes off the Socialist Party, while the governing parties united the right-of-center vote. A handful of grassroots anti-austerity parties barely registered in the exit poll. Teresa Godinho, a middle-aged psychologist voting at a polling station in Lisbon's suburbs, said she didn't entirely agree with the government, but voted for it because there were no other viable options. "I lost my trust in the Socialist Party when they left us nearly bankrupt," she said. But Tiago Amaral, a salesman unemployed for the past 18 months, said he opted for the Socialists because he was frustrated. "All I know is something's got to change," he said. Portugal still faces big problems. Government debt remains high at almost 130 percent of gross domestic product — the third-highest in the European Union. Portugal is Western Europe's poorest country in financial terms and recorded average growth of less than 1 percent in first decade of the century. Join the conversation about this story »
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