Portugal: Socialists ready for major tasks after landslide

By BARRY HATTON
Associated Press

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — A landslide election victory has opened the door for Portugal’s Socialists to start spending a huge financial windfall from the European Union, though the center-left party faces plenty of challenges. The Socialists collected 41.7% of the vote and a majority 117 seats in the 230-seat parliament in Sunday’s ballot. That was far ahead of its nearest rival, the center-right Social Democratic Party, which collected 28% and 71 seats. Resolving Portugal’s deep-rooted economic weaknesses will take longer than the next government’s four-year term. The country has been falling behind the rest of the 27-nation EU since 2000.