(25 Mar 2011)
1. Arrival of Paulo Portas, leader of the CDS-PP (Democratic and Social Centre - Popular Party)
2. Pan of Portas' delegation to Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva
3. Close-up of President Cavaco Silva
4. Portas walks out of meeting with President and walks to microphone
5. SOUNDBITE: (Portuguese) Paulo Portas, Leader of the CDS-PP (Democratic and Social Centre-Popular Party):
"Due to the extremely difficult situation that the country faces, we need to respect, above all, the sacrifices and difficulties that the people and the companies are facing and we must have new elections as soon as possible."
6. Pedro Passos Coelho, Leader of the Social Democratic Party walks into meeting with the President
7. Inside meeting shot of Passos Coelho and President Cavaco Silva
8. SOUNDBITE: (Portuguese) Pedro Passos Coelho, Leader of the PSD (Social Democratic Party):
"Our conviction is that the elections must be held as soon as possible, therefore we have proposed to the president of the Republic the date of May 29th for elections to take place."
9. Cutaway of Socialist Party delegation arriving
10. Pan from president Cavaco Silva to Jose Vieira da Silva, Portuguese economy minster
11. Wide of meeting
12. Socialist delegation coming out of meeting
13. SOUNDBITE: (Portuguese) Jose Vieira da Silva, Portuguese Economy Minister (Representing Socialist Party):
"We don't have a firm position on the date of elections, but we proposed the date of June 5th as probably the most appropriate."
14. Cutaway
15. SOUNDBITE: (Portuguese) Jose Vieira da Silva, Portuguese Economy Minister (Representing Socialist Party):
"Once again, what I think all Portuguese hope from their political parties, whether they are in power, even if in a caretaker position, or opposition, is to reaffirm the interest of Portugal to resolve its problems without asking for external help. That is the interest of the country and of our economy."
16. Socialist delegation leaving
STORYLINE:
Portugal's political parties opted on Friday to hold an early election rather than form a new government, even though that could hasten the debt-stressed nation's financial woes and force it to take a bailout.
Portugal is rudderless and at the mercy of nervous financial markets after the Socialist government quit earlier this week in a dispute with rivals over new austerity measures.
President Anibal Cavaco Silva, who is largely a figurehead but oversees election procedures, met on Friday with all the country's political parties to see if they would voluntarily form a coalition government. But all backed a new election instead, which would take place in late May or early June.
Portugal, one of western Europe's poorest countries, is being engulfed by a financial crisis that is pushing it toward a bailout it doesn't want.
A decade of anemic growth during which Portugal ran up high debts has spooked the markets, sending its borrowing costs to unsustainably high levels.
Although Europe's bailout fund is able to come up with the euro75 billion (b) (106 billion (b) US dollars) that analysts estimate Portugal may need, its problems have contributed to investor fears about the entire 17-nation eurozone's financial soundness.
The parties' decisions on Friday means that bailout request to the European Union and the International Monetary Fund will be deferred until early summer, after the election.
Barclays Capital said Portugal's funding was tight but the June repayment doesn't spell disaster.
The government's downfall after a year of austerity measures aimed at averting a bailout sent Portugal into a financial tailspin.
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