DEBT CRISIS

Election campaigning comes at a time when some of the harshest measures are being enacted to combat the severe debt crisis.

The Portuguese government has announced a series of austerity measures including public wage cuts and tax hikes to reduce its budget deficit to 4.6 percent of the GDP in 2011 compared with an estimated 7.3 percent in 2010.

After all these efforts fail, many analysts agree, it would only be a matter of time before the country is forced to seek an international bailout.

According to the autumn forecast of the European Commission, Portugal's economy would shrink by 1.0 percent in 2011.

If the economy continues to contract, there will be less money to service the country's debts.

In this scenario, whoever wins the presidential race will inherit a sluggish economy and a heave debt burden, for which there are no quick fixes.