A highly fragmented parliament means Portugal will likely enter a period of unstable governments in the coming years, yet any new government is unlikely to abandon a path of fiscal prudence due to significant economic and fiscal constraints. The center-right Democratic Alliance (AD) -- a coalition of conservative parties led by the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and that includes two other smaller parties -- won Portugal's snap general election on March 10, securing 79 seats in the country's 230-seat parliament, narrowly ahead of the incumbent center-left Socialist Party (PS) with 77 seats. The right-wing populist Chega party came in third, capturing 48 seats. PS leader Pedro Nuno Santos conceded defeat shortly after the vote, and President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is expected to formally invite AD leader Luis Montenegro to form a government in the coming days. Montenegro, who throughout the campaign repeatedly ruled out an agreement with Chega to...
