Another Eurozone country bailout looms

The front pages of tomorrow’s papers are a mixed bag for George Osborne. He’ll be happy with The Sun’s welcome for his abolition of the fuel escalator but, I suspect, a tad disappointed by the Mail’s warning that there are ‘Shocks under the bonnet’ in the Budget. Among the other papers, The Express is very keen—‘Budget gives us all hope—but The Mirror is predictably hostile.

There’s one other story moving tonight which has Budget relevance, the resignation of the Portuguese PM (pictured left) after losing a parliamentary vote on an austerity package.

This makes it highly likely that Portugal will become the third Eurozone country to seek a bailout. It also acts as a reminder of just how hard the bond markets can punish countries that refuse to take steps to get their public finances in order. Expect the coalition to ram this message home as it defends its fiscal policy ahead of Saturday’s anti-cuts march.