Portuguese coalition on the brink of collapse

The government is on the brink of collapse, leaving financial markets around Europe nervous and reigniting concerns about the eurozone’s strategy for dealing with its financial crisis.

The Prime Minister, Pedro Passos Coelho, was struggling to keep his centre-right coalition together after the resignations of two key ministers over austerity measures.

If the coalition collapses, Mr Coelho will not have enough votes in parliament to pursue the reforms required to keep accessing international bailout loans. AP