A forma como o Economist viu as nossas eleições (cópia de parte do artigo)

..."José Sócrates, the Socialists' new leader, tried to instil some passion by shouting “We did it! We did it!” in his victory speech. Yet the turnout (65%), the highest in ten years, and the big swing to the left were less a vote of confidence in the Socialists than a rejection of the centre-right government. Nobody did more for the left than Pedro Santana Lopes, the former mayor of Lisbon who took over as prime minister last July, when José Manuel Barroso stepped down to become European Commission president.

His government proved so erratic, blunder-prone and media-obsessed that, after only four months, Jorge Sampaio, Portugal's Socialist president, took the unusual step of dissolving parliament and calling elections a year early. His decision has been vindicated by a result that should ensure four years of stable government. Some of the blame should go to Mr Barroso. His centre-right Social Democrats were torn apart by his choice of successor, helping to push them towards their biggest-ever defeat. Not only did the Socialists win an absolute majority, with 45% of the vote, but the left swept up 60%, with hardline Communists and a group of former Trotskyites and Maoists winning close to 15% among them. “Barroso is not innocent in this crisis,” said Angelo Correia, a top Social Democrat. “He fled the country for a position that is highly prestigious for Portugal, but he left a mess behind.”