More than a month has passed since Portugal’s national elections, yet the country remains wracked with political uncertainty.

In the weeks following the October 4 election, a coalition of the Left and radical left promising to end four years of crippling austerity emerged, securing an absolute majority in parliament. But Aníbal Cavaco Silva, Portugal’s right-wing president, balked.

Invoking a higher imperative than democracy — appeasement of foreign financial markets and eurozone investors — Cavaco Silva declared that the radical left had no place in power and swore in a minority right-wing coalition at the beginning of November. Less than two weeks later, the government fell, polarizing the country to an extent not seen in decades.