LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal's center-right coalition government will likely be re-elected despite enacting unpopular austerity measures to tackle the country's debt problems, according to an exit poll after Sunday's election.

The poll on public broadcaster Radiotelevisao Portuguesa gave the center-right coalition government between 38 to 43 percent of votes. The main opposition center-left Socialist Party came second with 30 to 35 percent, it said.

Portugal needed a 78 billion-euro ($87 billion) bailout in 2011 amid the Eurozone's financial crisis, and the government has cut pay, pensions and public services and increased taxes since then.

Similar measures have brought a backlash against governments in other Eurozone countries. But economic improvements in recent times and Portugal's traditional preference for moderate parties appeared to help the government to another four-year term.

As predicted, the moderate mainstream parties led the ballot after more radical alternatives failed to exploit public discontent over austerity.

The government's policies were part of a Eurozone plan to restore the 19-nation bloc's financial health following its debt crisis. The government warned the country can't afford to go back to the borrow-and-spend programs of the past and must remain frugal till its debt load is lower.

The Socialist Party promised to start easing the tax burden and speed up growth through domestic consumption. But the Socialists bear the stigma of having led Portugal to the brink of bankruptcy four years ago.

Unlike in some other Eurozone countries, no prominent radical parties fighting austerity emerged during the tough times. Protest votes went to the Left Bloc, which the exit poll indicated would get 8 to 11 percent, and the Communist Party, which was expected to get 7 to 9 percent.

A handful of grassroots anti-austerity parties barely registered in the poll.

The government's spending cuts and tax hikes helped propel Portugal into a three-year recession. But this year the economy is improving, and incumbent Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho argued austerity is paying off. The economy grew 1.5 percent in the first half of this year compared with the same period in 2014. The unemployment rate has fallen from a record 17.7 percent in 2013 to 12.3 percent last July.

Teresa Godinho, a middle-aged psychologist voting at a polling station in Lisbon's suburbs, said she didn't entirely agree with the government, but voted for it because there were no other viable options.

"I lost my trust in the Socialist Party when they left us nearly bankrupt," she said.

But Tiago Amaral, a salesman unemployed for the past 18 months, said he opted for the Socialists because he was frustrated.

"All I know is something's got to change," he said.

Portugal still faces big problems. Government debt remains high at almost 130 percent of gross domestic product — the third-highest in the European Union. Portugal is Western Europe's poorest country in financial terms and recorded average growth of less than 1 percent in first decade of the century. Its economy is still frail, and any political instability could quickly derail the recovery.