Portugal's socialist Prime Minister, Mr Antonio Guterres, says he will resign because of a sweeping win by the opposition Social Democrats in local elections.
With polls sagging after six years in power, Mr Guterres, part of a new generation of market-friendly socialists, said he took the blame for yesterday's stunning defeat by the centre-right Social Democrats.
"I understand that my duty before Portugal and Portuguese is to avoid political confusion," he told reporters early today.
It was not immediately clear if President Mr Jorge Sampaio would accept Mr Guterres's resignation. But Mr Guterres said he had refused to put a no-confidence motion before parliament since it would not help "the necessary re-establishment of trust between governors and the governed".
Mr Guterres (52) has seen his ratings drop as the economy cooled from a pace that surpassed the European Union average through much of the 1990s.
He has reshuffled his cabinet repeatedly since re-election in 1999, including replacing six ministers in June, and had to amend the budget twice this year. The government also backtracked on such issues as fiscal reform and a stiffer drunk-driving test.
Although Mr Guterres led Portugal into the eurozone, his popularity slumped amid failure to carry through reforms to improve structural weaknesses, such as in education and in cutting government spending.