From time to time, hopes revive that Mr Cavaco Silva might be persuaded to come back.

ECONOMIST: A Survey of Portugal

President Cavaco Silva made the surprise announcement in his New Year's speech, the day after signing the budget into law.

BBC: Portuguese protester holding flag

Mr Cavaco Silva did have clear ideas, but he cared little for party politics, and did little to prepare a smooth succession.

ECONOMIST: A Survey of Portugal

Since 1995, when Mr Cavaco Silva resigned its leadership while still prime minister, the party has had no fewer than three bosses.

ECONOMIST: A Survey of Portugal

Portugal's President Anibal Cavaco Silva said before the announcement that he did not believe the court ruling should mean a change of government.

BBC: Portugal constitutional court rejects budget articles

Although President Anibal Cavaco Silva signed the budget there is speculation that he may ask the constitutional court judges to check its legality.

BBC: Portugal set for major tax rises as 2013 budget hits

President Anibal Cavaco Silva said after the talks that the coalition government should remain in office and that the country should honour its international commitments.

BBC: Union protest in Lisbon, 22 March

While President Cavaco Silva is expected to meet opposition parties on Friday, speculation that elections will be moved forward by two years and will be held in May or June has mounted.

FORBES: Portugal Bailout Could Cost $99 to $114B

The court's decision came almost exactly three months after Mr Cavaco Silva formally asked the court to determine whether retirees and public workers were being treated unfairly or not, under the terms of the country's constitution.

BBC: Portugal constitutional court rejects budget articles

The same pollsters who give him such a hard time, he says, got it badly wrong last year: they had forecast, shortly before the general election, that Mr Guterres would win a bigger majority than Mr Cavaco Silva had held.

ECONOMIST: A Survey of Portugal