These scenarios have been under discussion following Portugal’s prime minister António Costa statement on Friday, saying the government will resign if the parliament approves in a final vote the initiative to restore the teacher’s service time, which has been frozen for years as a cost-cutting measure.

Costa added that president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has already been informed of this decision, as well as the parliament speaker Ferro Rodrigues.

Portugal’s parliament approved on Thursday an amendment to the government decree, with votes against the Socialist Party (PS) and the support of all the other parties, stipulating that the service time to be recovered is the nine years, four months and two days claimed by the teachers’ union.

The parliament committee will meet again next Tuesday, and the final vote can take place between 10 and 15 May, the last session before the European elections (scheduled for 26 May).

If the government resigns in May and the president immediately dissolves the parliament a snap election can be called, but only for mid-July.