But the bailout — secured by a Socialist administration in 2011 although carried out by a center-right government that came to power only a month later in a voter revolt — has come at a high social cost. And politics could determine whether even Portugal can and will stay on this new, hard-won course.

Pedro Passos Coelho, Portugal’s center-right prime minister, wasted little time on Sunday in trying to take the credit for dragging Portugal out of a “period of national emergency,” during which his government’s tax increases and spending cuts provoked many street protests but gained plaudits from lenders. With another general election in 2015, there is a risk that the government might start lapsing on the most unpopular reforms, said Antonio Roldán, an analyst at the Eurasia Group in London.

Some business executives are more optimistic, even if that requires taking a long view.

Portugal, like other suffering euro zone economies, has experienced a significant exodus of workers. About 120,000 left the country in 2012 alone, out of a labor force of 5.5 million.

Those who left included many young and qualified workers, even from companies that remained profitable throughout the crisis, like Tekever, a Portuguese technology company. Ricardo Mendes, Tekever’s chief operating officer, said that about 20 of its 150 engineers left Portugal during the crisis, some asking to relocate to Tekever’s foreign subsidiaries and others finding jobs with rivals overseas.

“We lost great people here not because there was something wrong with the work itself but just because of the bad environment in Portugal, and that is a real pain,” Mr. Mendes said. “When people see a better future for their kids by living in London, what can you say to them?”

Still, Mr. Mendes expressed confidence that “when the economy really goes up and investments are made, people will come back.”