President Cavaco Silva to Decide Portugal's Future

All eyes are on Portugal’s President Anibal Cavaco Silva Wednesday, as he decides whether the country should go to the polls again to elect a new government after a no confidence vote forced the minority government of Pedro Passos Coelho to resign Tuesday, or allow the new left-wing coalition that now holds a majority to take over.

Portugal’s press all led with headlines awaiting the president’s decision, Spanish news agency EFE reports.

Constitutionally, Cavaco Silva can either allow the leftists to rule, led by Socialist Party leader Antoinio Costa, or keep Passos in a caretaker role until new elections can be called after June 2016.

Cavaco Silva could go either way, Reuters reports. He criticized the two parties that are supporting the PS in a tripartite pact to rule, the Left Bloc and Communist Party for their having advocated in the past for leaving the euro currency.

"Never has a Portuguese government depended on the support of anti-European political forces," said Cavaco Silva.

It was also the president’s decision that Passos be given first stab at forming a government after the Oct. 4 elections, making him prime minister despite him having a minority.

On the other hand, veteran politician Cavaco Silva, who himself ruled as prime minister from 1985-1995, has called snap elections the “atomic bomb” option in the past, according to Reuters, which suggests he may hand power to the leftist majority coalition.

Passos’ conservatives were brought down Tuesday after the leftists garnered 123 votes to 107 in the 230 seat National Assembly against his austerity program.

Reuters reports that there are fears in the market and among Portugal’s conservatives that a left-wing government may lead to a situation like Greece, where the anti-austerity Syriza government has struggled to keep election promises and fight off European Union and International Monetary Fund demands to implement strict austerity programs.

OPINION: Portugal: What is at Stake? By Boaventura de sousa Santos

Costa fought back against those claiming a left-wing government would lead to chaos.

"The approval of the rejection vote, it's not the expression of a mere negative majority against the ... government and does not lead the country to a deadlock or to ungovernability, just the opposite, it is a constructive answer that leads to a new government with a coherent, credible and consistent program, with stable conditions to govern through the legislature," he said, according to Reuters.

He underlined the legitimacy of the vote: "A taboo has ended, a wall has fallen, a preconception has been overcome. Here at this national parliament, we are all different in our ideas, but we are all equal in our legitimacy."

The political maneuver of the leftists was the first of its kind since the end of dictatorship in 1974.

During Tuesday’s debate, supporters of both sides waited outside Parliament. Those supporting change included members of Portugal’s largest union, the CGTP, while Reuters quoted a Passos supporter as saying, "I hope the President ... doesn't want to be responsible for the second bankruptcy from a PS government, I don't believe in this left coalition."

WATCH: Tariq Ali interviews a Left Bloc activist on The World Today