Snap elections are called after Portugal’s government collapses

A GERINGONÇA IS pleasing to say, but difficult to operate. The Portuguese term, sometimes translated as “contraption”, refers to a device patched together from oddly fitting parts. Although the governing arrangement that António Costa, Portugal’s prime minister, assembled in 2015 was dubbed the geringonça, it proved surprisingly durable. But on October 27th it finally fell apart, as two left-wing partners voted down his budget, triggering elections two years early—a rare occurrence in Portugal.