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'{{short description|Form of government}} {{more citations needed|date=May 2010}} {{politics}} A '''coalition government''' is a form of government in which political parties cooperate, reducing the dominance of any one party within that "coalition". The usual reason for this arrangement is so that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the [[election]]. A coalition government might also be created in a time of national difficulty or crisis (for example, during wartime or economic crisis) to give a government the high degree of perceived [[Legitimacy (political)|political legitimacy]] or [[collective identity]], it can also play a role in diminishing internal political strife. In such times, parties have formed all-party coalitions ([[national unity government]]s, [[grand coalition]]s). If a coalition collapses, a [[Motion of Confidence|confidence vote]] is held or a [[motion of no confidence]] is taken. ==Practice== {{original research section|date=June 2009}} When a general election does not produce a clear majority for a single party, parties either form coalition cabinets, supported by a parliamentary majority, or [[Minority government|minority cabinets]] which may consist of one or more parties. Cabinets based on a group of parties that command a majority in parliament tend to be more stable and long-lived than minority cabinets. While the former are prone to internal struggles, they have less reason to fear votes of no confidence. [[Majority government]]s based on a single party are typically even more stable, as long as their majority can be maintained. According to a 2020 study, voters are capable of attributing policy-specific responsibility to specific parties in a coalition government.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Fortunato|first=David|last2=Lin|first2=Nick C. N.|last3=Stevenson|first3=Randolph T.|last4=Tromborg|first4=Mathias Wessel|date=2020|title=Attributing Policy Influence under Coalition Governance|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/attributing-policy-influence-under-coalition-governance/6EEC4C32A19957EC3D3B1107B8099149?utm_source=hootsuite&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=PSR_Sep20|journal=American Political Science Review|language=en|volume=|pages=1–17|doi=10.1017/S0003055420000763|issn=0003-0554|via=}}</ref> ==Distribution== {{see also|List of countries with coalition governments}} Countries which often operate with coalition cabinets include: the [[Nordic countries]], the [[Benelux]] countries, [[Australia]], [[Austria]], [[Cyprus]], [[France]], [[Germany]], [[Greece]], [[India]], [[Indonesia]], [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], [[Israel]], [[Italy]],<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bergman|first=Matthew Edward|date=4 May 2020|title=Sorting between and within coalitions: the Italian case (2001–2008)|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/italian-political-science-review-rivista-italiana-di-scienza-politica/article/sorting-between-and-within-coalitions-the-italian-case-20012008/B83504E4244CDC09ACF5322E481810B8|journal=Italian Political Science Review / Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica|language=en|volume=|pages=1–25|doi=10.1017/ipo.2020.12|issn=0048-8402|via=|doi-access=free}}</ref> [[Japan]], [[Kenya]], [[Kosovo]], [[Lithuania]], [[Latvia]], [[Lebanon]], [[Nepal]], [[New Zealand]], [[Pakistan]], [[Thailand]], [[Trinidad and Tobago]], [[Turkey]] and [[Ukraine]]. [[Switzerland]] has been ruled by a coalition of the four strongest parties in parliament from 1959 to 2008, called the "[[Magic Formula]]". Between 2010 and 2015, the [[United Kingdom]] also operated a formal coalition between the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] and the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrat]] parties, but this was unusual: the UK usually has a single-party majority government. ===Coalitions composed of few parties=== {{party politics}} ====United Kingdom==== {{see also|National Government (United Kingdom)|United Kingdom coalition government (disambiguation)}} In the [[Politics of the United Kingdom|United Kingdom]], coalition governments (sometimes known as "national governments") usually have only been formed at times of national crisis. The most prominent was the [[National Government (United Kingdom)|National Government]] of 1931 to 1940. There were multi-party coalitions during both [[world war]]s. Apart from this, when no party has had a majority, minority governments normally have been formed with one or more opposition parties agreeing to vote in favour of the legislation which governments need to function: for instance the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] government of [[James Callaghan]] formed [[Lib-Lab pact|a pact]] with the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberals]] from March 1977 until July 1978, after a series of by-election defeats had eroded Labour's majority of three seats which had been gained at the [[October 1974 United Kingdom general election|October 1974 election]]. However, in the run-up to the [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997 general election]], Labour opposition leader [[Tony Blair]] was in talks with [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrat]] leader [[Paddy Ashdown]] about forming a coalition government if Labour failed to win a majority at the election; but there proved to be no need for a coalition as Labour won the election by a [[landslide victory|landslide]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Making Minority Government Work:Hung Parliaments and the Challenges for Westminster and Whitehall|url=http://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/pdfs/making-minority-gov-work.pdf|date=2008-12-02|accessdate=2009-12-07}}</ref> The [[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010 general election]] resulted in a [[hung parliament]] (Britain's first for [[February 1974 United Kingdom general election|36 years]]), and the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservatives]], led by [[David Cameron]], which had won the largest number of seats, formed a [[Cameron–Clegg coalition|coalition]] with the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]] in order to gain a parliamentary majority, ending 13 years of Labour government. This was the first time that the Conservatives and Lib Dems had made a power-sharing deal at Westminster.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/2010/05/lib-dems-government-deal|title=Tories and Lib Dems enter full coalition government|magazine=The New Statesman}}</ref> It was also the first full coalition in Britain since 1945, having been formed 70 years virtually to the day after the establishment of [[Winston Churchill]]'s wartime coalition,<ref>Churchill became Prime Minister on 10 May 1940, [[David Cameron]] on 11 May 2010. Churchill formed his War Cabinet on 11 May: Winston S. Churchill (1949) ''Their Finest Hour''.</ref> Labour and the Liberal Democrats have entered into a coalition twice in the [[Scottish Parliament]], as well as twice in the [[Welsh Assembly]]. ====Germany==== In Germany, for instance, coalition government is the norm, as it is rare for either the [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany]] together with their partners the [[Christian Social Union in Bavaria]] (CDU/CSU), or the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany]] (SPD), to win an unqualified majority in a national election. Thus, at the federal level, governments are formed with at least two parties. For example, [[Helmut Kohl]]'s CDU governed for years in coalition with the [[Free Democratic Party of Germany|Free Democratic Party]] (FDP); from 1998 to 2005 [[Gerhard Schröder]]'s SPD was in power with the [[German Green Party|Greens]]; and from 2009 [[Angela Merkel]], CDU/CSU was in power with the FDP. "Grand coalitions" of the two large parties also occur, but these are relatively rare, as large parties usually prefer to associate with small ones. However, if none of the larger parties can receive enough votes to form their preferred coalition, a grand coalition might be their only choice for forming a government. This was the situation in Germany in 2005 when Angela Merkel became Chancellor: in early [[2005 German federal election|elections]], the CDU/CSU did not garner enough votes to form a majority coalition with the FDP; similarly the SPD and Greens did not have enough votes to continue with their formerly ruling coalition. A grand coalition government was subsequently forged between the CDU/CSU and the SPD. Partnerships like these typically involve carefully structured cabinets. The CDU/CSU ended up holding the [[Chancellor of Germany (Federal Republic)|Chancellery]] while the SPD took the majority of cabinet posts. Parties frequently make statements ahead of elections which coalitions they categorically reject, similar to election promises or shadow cabinets in other countries. In Germany, coalitions rarely consist of more than two parties (CDU and CSU, two allies which always form a single [[caucus]], are in this regard considered a single party). However, in the 2010s coalitions on the state level increasingly included three different parties, often [[Free Democratic Party (Germany)|FDP]], Greens and one of the major parties or "red red green" coalitions of [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|SPD]], [[Linkspartei]] and Greens. By 2016, the Greens have joined governments on the state level in eleven coalitions in seven various constellations.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://eu.boell.org/sites/default/files/greens_in_government.pdf|title=German Greens in Coalition Governments. A Political Analysis.|last=Jungjohann|first=Arne|publisher=Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union and Green European Foundation|year=2017|isbn=|location=|pages=19}}</ref> The coalitions are sometimes given names based on the party colors, such as the [[Traffic light coalition]] or the [[Jamaica coalition (politics)|Jamaica coalition]]. ===Examples of coalitions=== ====Armenia==== [[Armenia]] became an independent state in 1991, following the collapse of the [[Soviet Union]]. Since then, many political parties were formed in it, who mainly work with each other to form coalition governments. Currently the country is governed by the [[My Step Alliance]] coalition after successfully gaining a majority in the [[National Assembly of Armenia]] following the [[2018 Armenian parliamentary election]]. ====Australia==== In federal [[Politics of Australia|Australian politics]], the conservative [[Liberal Party of Australia|Liberal]], [[National Party of Australia|National]], [[Country Liberal Party|Country Liberal]] and [[Liberal National Party of Queensland|Liberal National]] parties are united in a coalition, known simply as [[Coalition (Australia)|the Coalition]]. The Coalition has become so stable, at least at the federal level, that in practice the lower house of Parliament has become a [[two-party system|two-party]] house, with the Coalition and the [[Australian Labor Party|Labor Party]] being the major parties. This coalition is also found in the states of [[New South Wales]] and [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]]. In [[South Australia]] and [[Western Australia]] the Liberal and National parties compete separately, while in the [[Northern Territory]] and [[Queensland]] the two parties have merged, forming the Country Liberal Party, in 1978, and the Liberal National Party, in 2008, respectively. The other federal coalition has been: *[[United Australia Party|United Australia]]–[[National Country Party|Country]]–Independents coalition in [[1940 Australian federal election|1940]] *In [[Tasmanian Government|Tasmania]]: **Liberal–Greens coalition in [[1996 Tasmanian state election|1996]]. **Labor–Greens coalitions formed in [[1989 Tasmanian state election|1989]] and [[2010 Tasmanian state election|2010]]. *In the [[ACT Government|Australian Capital Territory]]: **Liberal–[[Independent (politician)|Independent]] coalition in [[1998 Australian Capital Territory general election|1998]]. **Labor–Greens coalitions in [[2001 Australian Capital Territory general election|2001]] and [[2008 Australian Capital Territory general election|2008]]. ====Belgium==== In [[Politics of Belgium|Belgium]], where there are separate [[Dutch language|Dutch]]-speaking and [[French language|French]]-speaking parties for each political grouping, coalition cabinets of up to six parties are common. ====Canada==== In [[Politics of Canada|Canada]], the [[Great Coalition]] was formed in 1864 by the [[Clear Grits]], [[Parti bleu]], and [[Liberal-Conservative Party]]. During the [[First World War]], Prime Minister [[Robert Borden]] attempted to form a coalition with the opposition Liberals to broaden support for controversial conscription legislation. The Liberal Party refused the offer but some of their members did [[crossing the floor|cross the floor]] and join the government. Although sometimes referred to as a coalition government, according to the definition above, it was not. It was disbanded after the end of the war.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/precedents-from-around-the-world-1.876563|title=Coalition Government: Precedents from around the world|publisher=CBC News|date=2010-05-13|accessdate=2009-05-14}}</ref> As a result of the [[1919 Ontario general election|1919 Ontario election]], the [[United Farmers of Ontario]] and the [[Labour Party of Canada|Labour Party]], together with three independent MLAs, formed a coalition that governed [[Ontario]] until 1923. In [[British Columbia]], the governing Liberals formed a coalition with the opposition Conservatives in order to prevent the surging, left-wing [[Cooperative Commonwealth Federation]] from taking power in the [[1941 British Columbia general election]]. Liberal premier [[Duff Pattullo]] refused to form a coalition with the third-place Conservatives, so his party removed him. The Liberal–Conservative coalition introduced a winner-take-all preferential voting system (the "[[Alternative Vote]]") in the hopes that their supporters would rank the other party as their second preference; however, this strategy did not take CCF second preferences into account. In the [[1952 British Columbia general election]], to the surprise of many, the right-wing populist [[BC Social Credit Party]] won a minority. They were able to win a majority in the subsequent election as Liberal and Conservative supporters shifted their anti-CCF vote to Social Credit. Manitoba has had more formal coalition governments than any other province. Following gains by the United Farmer's/Progressive movement elsewhere in the country, the [[United Farmers of Manitoba]] unexpectedly won the 1921 election. Like their counterparts in Ontario, they had not expected to win and did not have a leader. They asked [[John Bracken]], a professor in animal husbandry, to become leader and premier. Bracken changed the party's name to the [[Progressive Party of Manitoba]]. During the Great Depression, Bracken survived at a time when other premiers were being defeated by forming a coalition government with the Manitoba Liberals (eventually, the two parties would merge into the [[Manitoba Liberal Party#Liberal-Progressive Party: Merger with the Progressives|Liberal-Progressive Party of Manitoba]], and decades later, the party would change its name to the [[Manitoba Liberal Party]]). In 1940, Bracken formed a wartime coalition government with almost every party in the Manitoba Legislature (the Conservatives, CCF, and Social Credit; however, the CCF broke with the coalition after a few years over policy differences). The only party not included was the small, communist [[Labor-Progressive Party]], which had a handful of seats. In Saskatchewan, NDP premier [[Roy Romanow]] formed a formal coalition with the [[Saskatchewan Liberal Party|Saskatchewan Liberals]] in 1999 after being reduced to a minority. After two years, the newly elected Liberal leader David Karwacki ordered the coalition be disbanded, the Liberal caucus disagreed with him and left the Liberals to run as New Democrats in the upcoming election. The [[Saskatchewan NDP]] was re-elected with a majority under its new leader [[Lorne Calvert]], while the Saskatchewan Liberals lost their remaining seats and have not been competitive in the province since. According to historian [[Christopher Moore (Canadian historian)|Christopher Moore]], coalition governments in Canada became much less possible in 1919, when the leaders of parties were no longer chosen by elected MPs but instead began to be chosen by party members. Such a manner of leadership election had never been tried in any parliamentary system before. According to Moore, as long as that kind of leadership selection process remains in place and concentrates power in the hands of the leader, as opposed to backbenchers, then coalition governments will be very difficult to form. Moore shows that the diffusion of power within a party tends to also lead to a diffusion of power in the parliament in which that party operates, thereby making coalitions more likely.<ref name=Moore-1>{{cite journal|last1=Moore|first1=Christopher|year=2011|title=Come together|journal=[[Canada's History]]|issue=June–July 2011|pages=53–54}}</ref> During the [[2008–09 Canadian parliamentary dispute]], two of Canada's opposition parties signed an agreement to form what would become the country's second coalition government since [[Canadian confederation|Confederation]] if the minority Conservative government was defeated on a vote of non-confidence,<ref>{{cite news|title=Coalition Set To Topple Canada PM|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB122818032317670973?mod=googlenews_wsj|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=2008-12-02|accessdate=2008-12-02|author=Menon, Nirmala}}</ref> unseating [[Stephen Harper]] as Prime Minister. The agreement outlined a formal coalition consisting of two opposition parties, the [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal Party]] and the [[New Democratic Party (Canada)|New Democratic Party]]. The [[Bloc Québécois]] agreed to support the proposed coalition on confidence matters for 18 months. In the end, parliament was [[Prorogation in Canada|prorogued]] by the [[Governor General of Canada|Governor General]], and the coalition dispersed before parliament was reconvened. ====Denmark==== From the creation of the [[Folketing]] in 1849 through the introduction of [[proportional representation]] in 1918, there were only single-party governments in Denmark. [[Thorvald Stauning]] formed his [[Stauning II Cabinet|second government]] and Denmark's first coalition government in 1929. With the exception of a string of one-party governments during the 1970s, the norm since 1929 has been coalition governments. Every government from 1982 until the [[2015 Danish general election|2015 elections]] were coalitions. The most recent coalition was [[Lars Løkke Rasmussen III Cabinet|Løkke's third government]], which was replaced by the one-party [[Frederiksen Cabinet|Frederiksen government]] in 2019. When the [[Social Democrats (Denmark)|Social Democrats]] under Stauning won 46% of the votes in the [[1935 Danish Folketing election|1935 election]], this was the closest any party has gotten to winning an outright majority in parliament. One party has thus never held a majority alone, and even one-party governments since 1918 have needed the [[Confidence and supply|support]] of at least one other party to govern. For example, the current government consists only of the Social Democrats, but also relies on the support of the [[Danish Social Liberal Party|Social Liberal Party]], the [[Socialist People's Party (Denmark)|Socialist People's Party]], and the [[Red–Green Alliance (Denmark)|Red–Green Alliance]]. ====Finland==== In [[Politics of Finland|Finland]], no party has had an absolute majority in the parliament since independence, and multi-party coalitions have been the norm. Finland experienced its most stable government ([[Paavo Lipponen's first cabinet|Lipponen I]] and [[Paavo Lipponen's second cabinet|II]]) since [[Finland's declaration of independence|independence]] with a five-party governing coalition, a so-called "rainbow government". The Lipponen cabinets set the stability record and were unusual in the respect that both the centre-left (SDP) and radical left-wing (Left Alliance) parties sat in the government with the major centre-right party (National Coalition). The [[Jyrki Katainen's cabinet|Katainen cabinet]] was also a rainbow coalition of a total of five parties. ====India==== Since India's Independence on 15 August 1947, [[Indian National Congress]], the major political party instrumental in [[Indian independence movement]], ruled the nation. The first Prime Minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], second PM [[Lal Bahadur Shastri]] and the third PM [[Indira Gandhi]], all were from the Congress party. However, [[Raj Narain]], who had unsuccessfully contested election against Indira from the constituency of [[Rae Bareilly]] in 1971, lodged a case, alleging electoral malpractices. In June 1975, Indira was found guilty and barred by High Court from holding public office for six years. In response, an ungracious Emergency was declared under the pretext of national security. The [[1977 Indian general election|next election's result]] was that [[Politics of India|India]]'s first-ever coalition government was formed at the national level under the Prime Ministership of [[Morarji Desai]], which was also the first non-Congress national government, which existed from 24 March 1977 to 15 July 1979, headed by the [[Janata Party]],<ref name="UK">{{cite news|title=OBITUARY: Morarji Desai|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-morarji-desai-1615165.html|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|author=Kuldip Singh|date=1995-04-11|accessdate=2009-06-27}}</ref> an amalgam of political parties opposed to Emergency imposed between 1975 and 1977. As the popularity of Janata Party dwindled, Morarji Desai had to resign and [[Charan Singh]], a rival of Desai became the fifth PM. However, due to lack of support, this coalition government did not complete its five-year term. Congress returned to the power in 1980 under Indira Gandhi, and later under [[Rajiv Gandhi]] as the 6th PM. However, the next [[1989 Indian general election|general election of 1989]] once again brought a coalition government under [[National Front (India)|National Front]], which lasted until 1991, with two Prime Ministers, the second one being supported by Congress. The 1991 election resulted in a Congress led stable [[minority government]] for five years. The next 11th [[Lok Sabha|parliament]] produced three Prime Ministers in two years and forced the country back to the polls in 1998. The first successful coalition government in India which completed the whole 5-year term was the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP) led [[National Democratic Alliance (India)|National Democratic Alliance]] with [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]] as PM from 1999 to 2004. Then another coalition, Congress led [[United Progressive Alliance]], consisting of 13 separate parties ruled India for two terms from 2004 to 2014 with [[Manmohan Singh]] as PM. However, in the [[2014 Indian general election|16th general election]] in May 2014, BJP secured majority on its own (first party to do so since 1984 election) and National Democratic Alliance came into power, with [[Narendra Modi]] as Prime Minister. In 2019, Narendra Modi got re-elected as Prime Minister for the second time as National Democratic Alliance again secured majority in the [[2019 Indian general election|17th general election]]. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ====Indonesia==== As a result of the [[Fall of Suharto|toppling of Suharto]], political freedom is significantly increased. Compared to only three parties allowed to exist in the [[New Order (Indonesia)|New Order]] era, a total of 48 political parties participated in the [[1999 Indonesian legislative election|1999 election]], a total of 24 parties in the [[2004 Indonesian legislative election|2004 election]], 38 parties in the [[2009 Indonesian legislative election|2009 election]], and 15 parties in the [[2014 Indonesian legislative election|2014 election]]. There are no majority winner of those elections and coalition governments are inevitable. The current government is a coalition of seven parties led by the [[Indonesian Democratic Party – Struggle|PDIP]] and [[Party of the Functional Groups|Golkar]]. ====Ireland==== In [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], coalition governments are common; not since 1977 has a single party formed a majority government. Coalition governments to date have been led by either [[Fianna Fáil]] or [[Fine Gael]]. They have been joined in government by one or more smaller parties or [[Independent politicians in Ireland|independent]] members of parliament (TDs). Ireland's first coalition government was formed after the [[1948 Irish general election|1948 general election]], with five parties and independents represented at cabinet. Before 1989, Fianna Fáil had opposed participation in coalition governments, preferring single-party minority government instead. It formed a coalition government with the [[Progressive Democrats]] in that year. The [[Labour Party (Ireland)|Labour Party]] has been in government on eight occasions. On all but one of those occasions, it was as a junior coalition party to [[Fine Gael]]. The exception was a government with Fianna Fáil from 1993 to 1994. The [[Government of the 31st Dáil]] (2011–16), though a traditional Fine Gael–Labour coalition, was a [[grand coalition]] of the two largest parties, as Fianna Fáil had fallen to third place in the Dáil. The [[Government of the 33rd Dáil|current government]] is a [[grand coalition]] between [[Fianna Fáil]] and [[Fine Gael]], historically two parties that were diametrically opposed along the divisions of the [[Irish Civil War]]. The [[Green Party of Ireland|Green Party]] is also a partner in the coalition government. The coalition is the first of its kind as Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have never entered into formal coalition with each other. ====Israel==== A similar situation exists in [[Politics of Israel|Israel]], which typically has at least 10 parties holding representation in the [[Knesset]]. The only faction to ever gain the majority of Knesset seats was [[Alignment (political party)|Alignment]], an alliance of the [[Israeli Labor Party|Labor Party]] and [[Mapam]] that held an absolute majority for a brief period from 1968 to 1969. Historically, control of the Israeli government has alternated between periods of rule by the right-wing [[Likud]] in coalition with several right-wing and religious parties and periods of rule by the center-left Labor in coalition with several left-wing parties. [[Ariel Sharon]]'s formation of the centrist [[Kadima]] party in 2006 drew support from former Labor and Likud members, and Kadima ruled in coalition with several other parties. Israel also formed a [[national unity government]] from [[1984 Israeli legislative election|1984–1988]]. The premiership and foreign ministry portfolio were held by the head of each party for two years, and they switched roles in 1986. ====Japan==== In [[Politics of Japan|Japan]], controlling a majority in the [[House of Representatives (Japan)|House of Representatives]] is enough to decide the [[Election of the Prime Minister of Japan|election of the prime minister]] (=recorded, two-round votes in both houses of the [[National Diet]], yet the vote of the House of Representatives decision eventually overrides a dissenting [[House of Councillors (Japan)|House of Councillors]] vote automatically after the mandatory conference committee procedure fails which, by precedent, it does without real attempt to reconcile the different votes). Therefore, a party that controls the lower house can form a government on its own. It can also pass a budget on its own. But passing any law (including important budget-related laws) requires either majorities in both houses of the legislature or, with the drawback of longer legislative proceedings, a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives. In recent decades, single-party full legislative control is rare, and coalition governments are the norm: Most [[Cabinet of Japan|governments of Japan]] since the 1990s and, as of 2020, all since 1999 have been coalition governments, some of them still fell short of a legislative majority. The [[Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|Liberal Democratic Party]] (LDP) held a legislative majority of its own in the National Diet until 1989 (when it initially continued to govern alone)<!--, it came close enough to call it de facto control (through accessions) from the dissolution of the NFP (December 1997) until its defeat in the 1998 House of Councillors election (leading to the formation of a coalition cabinet in January 1999)!-->, and between the 2016 and 2019 elections (when it remained in its previous ruling coalition). The [[Democratic Party of Japan]] (through accessions in the House of Councillors) briefly controlled a single-party legislative majority for a few weeks before it lost the 2010 election (it, too, continued to govern as part of its previous ruling coalition). From the constitutional establishment of parliamentary cabinets and the introduction of the new, now directly elected upper house of parliament in 1947 until the formation of the LDP and the reunification of the [[Japanese Socialist Party]] in 1955, no single party formally controlled a legislative majority on its own. Only few formal coalition governments ([[Katayama Cabinet|46th]], [[Ashida Cabinet|47th]], initially [[Third Yoshida Cabinet|49th]] cabinet<!--[[:ja:第3次吉田内閣]]; Yoshida III was a bit complicated as the Democratic Party was splitting: Initially, the Democrats were in government with one wing (Inukai), and in opposition with the other (Tomabechi); later, the coalition wing merged with the Liberals, while the opposition wing merged with other opposition groups to form the kokumin-Democrats!-->) interchanged with technical minority governments and cabinets without technical control of the House of Councillors (later called "twisted Diets", ''nejire kokkai'', when they were not only technically, but actually divided). But during most of that period, the centrist [[Ryokufūkai (1947–60)|Ryokufūkai]] was the strongest overall or decisive cross-bench group in the House of Councillors, and it was willing to cooperate with both centre-left and centre-right governments even when it was not formally part of the cabinet; and in the House of Representatives, minority governments of Liberals or Democrats (or their precursors; loose, indirect successors to the two major pre-war parties) could usually count on support from some members of the other major conservative party or from smaller conservative parties and independents. Finally in 1955, when Hatoyama Ichirō's Democratic Party minority government called early House of Representatives elections and, while gaining seats substantially, remained in the minority, the Liberal Party refused to cooperate until negotiations on a long-debated "conservative merger" of the two parties were agreed upon, and eventually successful. After it was founded in 1955, the Liberal Democratic Party dominated Japan's governments for a long period: The new party governed alone without interruption until 1983, again from 1986 to 1993 and most recently between 1996 and 1999. The first time the LDP entered a coalition government followed its third loss of its [[House of Representatives of Japan|House of Representatives]] majority in the [[1983 Japanese general election|1983 House of Representatives general election]]. The LDP-[[New Liberal Club]] [[Second Nakasone Cabinet|coalition government]] lasted until 1986 when the LDP won landslide victories in simultaneous double elections to both houses of parliament. There have been coalition cabinets where the post of prime minister was given to a junior coalition partner: the [[Ashida Cabinet|JSP-DP-Cooperativist coalition government]] in 1948 of prime minister [[Ashida Hitoshi]] (DP) who took over after his JSP predecessor [[Tetsu Katayama]] had been toppled by the left wing of his own party, the [[Hosokawa Cabinet|JSP-Renewal-Kōmei-DSP-JNP-Sakigake-SDF-DRP coalition]] in 1993 with [[Morihiro Hosokawa]] (JNP) as compromise PM for the [[Ichirō Ozawa]]-negotiated rainbow coalition that removed the LDP from power for the first time to break up in less than a year, and the [[Murayama Cabinet|LDP-JSP-Sakigake government]] that was formed in 1994 when the LDP had agreed, if under internal turmoil and with some defections, to bury the main post-war partisan rivalry and support the election of JSP prime minister [[Tomiichi Murayama]] in exchange for the return to government. ==== New Zealand ==== {{Main|Electoral system of New Zealand#MMP in New Zealand}} [[MMP representation|MMP]] was introduced in [[New Zealand]] in [[1996 New Zealand general election|the 1996 election]]. In order to get into power, parties need to get a total of 50% of the 121 seats in parliament – 61. Since no parties have ever won a full majority, they must form coalitions with other parties. For example, during the [[2017 New Zealand general election|2017 general election]], [[Labour Party (New Zealand)|Labour]] won 46 seats and [[New Zealand First]] won nine. The two formed a [[Sixth Labour Government of New Zealand|Coalition Government]] with [[confidence and supply]] from the [[Green Party (New Zealand)|Green Party]] who won eight seats.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/election/2017/10/full-video-nz-first-leader-winston-peters-announces-next-government.html |title=Full video: NZ First leader Winston Peters announces next Government |author=Chapman, Grant |date=19 October 2017 |work=[[Newshub]] |accessdate=19 October 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/election/2017/10/an-historic-moment-for-the-green-party-james-shaw.html |title=An 'historic moment' for the Green Party – James Shaw |author=Hurley, Emma |date=19 October 2017 |work=[[Newshub]] |accessdate=19 October 2017}}</ref> ==== Spain ==== Since 2015, there are many more coalition governments than previously in municipalities, autonomous regions and, since 2020 (coming from the [[November 2019 Spanish general election]]), in the Spanish Government. There are two ways of conforming them: all of them based on a program and its institutional architecture, one consists on distributing the different areas of government between the parties conforming the coalition and the other one is, like in the Valencian Community,<ref>{{cite web |title=Generalitat Valenciana's political structure |website=gvaoberta.gva.es |url=http://www.gvaoberta.gva.es/es/estructura-organica |accessdate=5 April 2020}}</ref> where the ministries are structured with members of all the political parties being represented, so that conflicts that may occur are regarding competences and not fights between parties. Coalition governments in Spain had already existed during the 2nd Republic, and have been common in some specific Autonomous Communities since the 80's. Nonetheless, the prevalence of two big parties overall has been eroded and the need for coalitions appears to be the new normal since around 2015. ==== Uruguay ==== Since the [[1989 Uruguayan general election|1989 election]], there have been 4 coalition governments, all including at least both the conservative [[National Party (Uruguay)|National Party]] and the liberal [[Colorado Party (Uruguay)|Colorado Party]]. The first one was after the election of the blanco [[Luis Alberto Lacalle]] and lasted until 1992 due to policy disagreements, the longest lasting coalition was the Colorado-led coalition under the second government of [[Julio María Sanguinetti]], in which the national leader [[Alberto Volonté]] was frequently described as a "Prime Minister", the next coalition (under president [[Jorge Batlle]]) was also Colorado-led, but it lasted only until after the [[2002 Uruguay banking crisis]], when the blancos abandoned the government.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/politica/lacalle-herrera-batlle-gobernar-coalicion.html|title=De Lacalle Herrera a Batlle: cómo gobernar en coalición|last=ElPais|website=Diario EL PAIS Uruguay|language=spanish|access-date=2020-03-08}}</ref> After the [[2019 Uruguayan general election]], the blanco [[Luis Lacalle Pou]] formed the [[Coalición Multicolor|coalición multicolor]], composed of his own National Party, the liberal Colorado Party, the right wing populist [[Open Cabildo (Uruguay)|Open Cabildo]] and the center left [[Independent Party (Uruguay)|Independent Party]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/es/los-desaf%C3%ADos-de-lacalle-el-nuevo-presidente-del-pa%C3%ADs-m%C3%A1s-estable-de-latinoam%C3%A9rica/a-51477669|title=Los desafíos de Lacalle, el nuevo presidente del país más estable de Latinoamérica {{!}} DW {{!}} 29.11.2019|last=Welle (www.dw.com)|first=Deutsche|website=DW.COM|language=es-ES|access-date=2020-03-08}}</ref> ==Criticism== {{More citations needed section|date=May 2014}} Advocates of proportional representation suggest that a coalition government leads to more consensus-based politics, as a government comprising differing parties (often based on different ideologies) need to compromise about governmental policy. Another stated advantage is that a coalition government better reflects the popular opinion of the [[Constituency|electorate]] within a country.<ref name="Moore-1"/> Those who disapprove of coalition governments believe that such governments have a tendency to be fractious and prone to disharmony, as their component parties hold differing beliefs and thus may not always agree on policy.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Moury |first1=Catherine |last2=Timmermans |first2=Arco |title=Inter-party conflict management in coalition governments: Analyzing the role of coalition agreements in Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands |journal=Politics and Governance |date=25 July 2013 |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=117–131 |doi=10.17645/pag.v1i2.94 |url=https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/94 |accessdate=4 September 2018|doi-access=free }}</ref> Sometimes the results of an election mean that the coalitions which are mathematically most probable are ideologically infeasible, for example in [[Flanders]] or [[Northern Ireland]]. A second difficulty might be the ability of minor parties to play "[[kingmaker]]" and, particularly in close elections, gain far more power in exchange for their support than the size of their vote would otherwise justify. Coalition governments have also been criticized{{By whom|date=May 2014}} for sustaining a [[consensus]] on issues when disagreement and the consequent discussion would be more fruitful. To forge a consensus, the leaders of ruling coalition parties can agree to silence their disagreements on an issue to unify the coalition against the opposition. The coalition partners, if they control the parliamentary majority, can collude to make the parliamentary discussion on the issue irrelevant by consistently disregarding the arguments of the opposition and voting against the opposition's proposals — even if there is disagreement within the ruling parties about the issue. Powerful parties can also act in an [[Oligocracy|oligocratic]] way to form an alliance to stifle the growth of emerging parties. Of course, such an event is rare in coalition governments when compared to [[two-party system]]s, which typically exist because of stifling of the growth of emerging parties, often through discriminatory [[nomination rules]] regulations and [[plurality voting system]]s, and so on. A single, more powerful party can shape the policies of the coalition disproportionately. Smaller or less powerful parties can be intimidated to not openly disagree. In order to maintain the coalition, they would have to vote against their own party's platform in the parliament. If they do not, the party has to leave the government and loses executive power. However, this is contradicted by the "kingmaker" factor mentioned above. ==See also== {{div col|colwidth=18em}} * [[Cohabitation (government)|Cohabitation]] * [[Collaborative leadership]] * [[Electoral alliance]] * [[Electoral fusion]] * [[Hung parliament]] * [[List of democracy and election-related topics]] * [[List of countries with coalition governments]] * [[Majority government]] * [[Minority government]] * [[Plurality voting system]] * [[Political coalition]] * [[Political organisation]] * [[:Category:Political party alliances]] * [[Popular front]] * [[Unholy Alliance (geopolitical)|Unholy alliance]] * [[United front]] {{div col end}} ==References== {{reflist|30em}} {{Coalition Spectrum navbox}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Coalition Government}} [[Category:Coalition governments]] [[cs:Koalice#Vládní koalice]]'