Pedro Nuno Santos has been elected by Portugal's Socialist Party (PS) to lead them in a snap parliamentary election on 10 March.

This follows on from Antonio Costa's resignation as prime minister and party leader in November amid a corruption investigation.

The former infrastructure minister defeated acting Interior Minister Jose Luis Carneiro, winning 62% of the vote to become the secretary-general of the Socialist Party.

Nuno Santos, who defines himself as "a cobbler's grandson, son of a businessman," is from the left wing of the centre-left party, Reuters news agency reports, and between 2015 and 2019, coordinated parliamentary support for a previous government with the far-left.

Antonio Costa resigned on 7 November following an investigation into alleged violations in the management of green energy projects. A snap election was called for 10 March by President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

Furthermore, at the end of last year, Nuno Santos resigned following a scandal that broke out regarding a large severance payout by the state-owned airline TAP, which was overseen by him as infrastructure minister. Despite this, he has long been viewed as Costa's successor by analysts.

"We want to build Portugal where nobody is excluded or forgotten," he stated as he encouraged a strong welfare state, yet went on to add: "We do not want the state to replace companies. We want companies as partners."

His principal rival in the general elections is Luis Montenegro from the Social Democratic Party (PSD), who has pledged tax cuts in an attempt to gain a majority, the Reuters report continues.

Most opinion polls place Portugal's Socialist Party level with the Social Democratic Party, with the majority of analysts fearing a post-election crisis and a possible strengthening of the populist, anti-establishment party Chega.