Portuguese voters got a first look at their new government Tuesday, three weeks after parliamentary elections and amid ongoing concerns that the minority government is too fragile to last, dpa reported. Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho's centre-right Portugal a Frente party took the most votes in the October 4 election, with 38.5 per cent, but lacked a partner willing to form a coalition. After talks with other parties collapsed, Passos Coelho was tapped to form a minority government. But the Socialists, the Marxist leftist BE bloc and the communist-led CDU alliance have all said they will reject the government programme that Passos Coelho must present by November 9. Together, those three parties control a majority of the votes in the legislature. If Passos Coelho fails to win that vote, the constitution requires that he step down. The new government includes eight new cabinet ministers out of a total of 16. Notable names include Miguel Morais as economics minister, Joao Calvao as interior minister and Fernando Negrao as justice minister.
