After a battle between Portugal’s top court and its central government over the constitutionality of certain austerity measures, the prime minister says he will pursue any legal means he can to cut deficits. This, and this alone, will give him near-term access to bailout funds he needs to keep his nation solvent.

As the next series of austerity cuts begins, Portugal’s weary citizens were told to brace themselves again. According to The New York Times:

On Sunday, Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho warned his citizens to prepare for more hardship as his government would impose deeper spending cuts in areas like health and education to compensate for some austerity measures struck down by the country’s constitutional court.

While Mr. Passos Coelho’s determination to stick to the austerity script won immediate praise from Brussels, creditors are due back in Lisbon in coming weeks to assess just how far Portugal’s budgetary planning has been derailed by the court ruling.

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