The Eurozone sovereign debt crisis and Geringonça: how have they impacted the Portuguese radical left Euroscepticism?

Applying a qualitative analysis designed from Taggart and Szczerbiak’s (2001), and from Kopecky and Mudde’s (2002) theoretical frameworks on Euroscepticism, the article addresses the following research question: have Eurozone crisis and Geringonça changed the type of Euroscepticism of the Portuguese radical left parties? Contrary to our hypothesis, neither economic crisis nor the governmental support coalition Geringonça had a significant impact on the type of Euroscepticism of the Portuguese radical left parties. Findings suggest that ideology prevailed as an explanation for the qualification of Euroscepticism and that the salience (politicization) of Euroscepticism does not coincide with a harder position regarding the EU.