Analysis-Portuguese snap election points to rocky road ahead

FILE PHOTO: Portugal's Prime Minister and Socialist Party (PS) Secretary General Antonio Costa stands outside a polling station as he speaks to the media after casting his ballot during the general election in Porto, Portugal, January 23, 2022. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes/File Photo

LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal will hold a snap general election on Sunday that is likely to worsen political volatility and could produce a short-lived government, just when the country needs an able administration to make the most of EU pandemic recovery aid.

The vote risks ushering in a disappointing end to Prime Minister Antonio Costa's six-year rule, during much of which his minority administration was celebrated for fiscal discipline that avoided punishing austerity measures.