Portugal PM's party gains support after snap election called, poll shows

FILE PHOTO: Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa smiles as he attends a joint news conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel (not pictured) during the European Social Summit in Porto, Portugal, May 8, 2021. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura/File Photo

LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal's ruling centre-left Socialists have gained support after Portuguese were called to vote in a snap election on Jan. 30, an opinion poll showed on Monday, with the centre-right Social Democrats in a somewhat less distant second place.

Prime Minister Antonio Costa's Socialist Party rose to 39% in the survey by Intercampus pollsters who surveyed 612 respondents on Nov. 5-11, after President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa announced the election date, from 36.8% in their previous poll in September, still far from an outright majority.