The european director of ratings agency Standard & Poor's argues that Portugal should apply for a second bailout to help ‘facilitate the work of the government.’
Frank Gill said today there are strong reasons why Portugal is likely to ask for more financial help when the current Troika funding arrangement ends next Spring.
"Our assessment is that this may well be the case. This would give us a positive outlook on Portugal’s rating. We see a second funding programme as a positive factor for the rating. It would help the authorities to move forward with the very ambitious reforms," argued Gill. Without referring directly to the consequences of the potential torpedoing of the 2014 State Budget by the Constitutional Court, the director of S&P Europe spoke today of ‘legal concerns’ that may hinder the implementation of the current austerity programme.
