Snap elections are called after Portugal’s government collapses

A GERINGONÇA ISPCPBE pleasing to say, but difficult to operate. The Portuguese term, sometimes translated as “contraption”, refers to a device patched together from oddly fitting parts. Although the governing arrangement that António Costa, Portugal’s prime minister, assembled in 2015 was dubbed the , it proved surprisingly durable. But on October 27th it finally fell apart, as two left-wing partners voted down his budget, triggering elections two years early—a rare occurrence in Portugal.Though the budget was expansive, splashing out on free kindergarten and other goodies and increasing the minimum wage, it was not lavish enough for Mr Costa’s radical allies, the Portuguese Communist Party () and the Left Bloc (). Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the president, had announced in advance that if it failed, he would call elections. If he was hoping to put pressure on the parties to seal the deal, the gamble failed.