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M. Continuo

Portugal Passos Coelho sees PM nomination, government hinges on Socialists


    LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal's caretaker Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said on Tuesday after meeting President Anibal Cavaco Silva he expects to be named prime minister again and it is up to the main opposition Socialists to approve his new minority government.

    He called on the Socialists, who have started coalition talks with two left-wing parties after an inconclusive Oct. 4 election, to behave responsibly in parliament, adding that he believed a minority government could rule with their support.

    "It is clear that the Socialists have given no guarantees that their will approve the government. It is up to them to clarify their position," he told reporters.

    (Reporting By Andrei Khalip, editing by Axel Bugge)