José Socrates, Portugal’s prime minister, may be forced to seek support from the small rightwing Popular party (PP) after his centre-left Socialist party lost its overall majority in Sunday’s general election.

Mr Sócrates, whose share of the vote dropped from 45 per cent in 2005 to 36.6 per cent, appealed to opposition parties to ensure political stability as the new government sought to tackle an economic recession and escalating public deficits.