The Portuguese government on Thursday survived its fifth no-confidence vote related to its austerity policies, which many blame for the country's three-year recession and soaring unemployment, dpa reported. Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho's centre-right Social Democrats(PSD) and its junior coalition partner, the rightist CDS-PP, used their absolute majority in parliament to defeat the motion from the Green Party. The motion was backed by the main opposition Socialist Party, despite the fact it is in ongoing talks with the government to put together a "national salvation pact" that would allow the country to complete its 78-billion-euro (102-billion-dollar) bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. The pact was proposed by President Anibal Cavaco Silva following a political crisis related to the austerity policies, which were required under the bailout programme. -- SPA 21:35 LOCAL TIME 18:35 GMT تغريد
