Coalition Government

Usually, a coalition government is formed when the largest party in parliament doesn't have enough seats in the legislatureto form a majority government and seeks a coalition agreement with a smaller party with similar ideological positions in order to form as stable a government as possible.

In some Western European states, such as Finland and Italy, coalition governments are the accepted norm, since they use electoral systems which tend to result in coalition governments. In other states, such as the UK, coalitions have historically been seen as an extreme measure which should only be accepted in times of crisis. In the example of the UK, the majoritarian First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) system is used with the intention of bringing about single-party governments.

Features of coalition government

There are five main features of coalition governments. These features are:

• They occur in different electoral systems, including Proportional Representation and First-Past-the-Post.
• Coalition governments are formed by two or more political parties when no single party gains an overall majority in the legislature.
• Within coalitions, members have to compromise in order to reach an agreement on policy priorities and ministerial appointments whilst keeping the best interests of the nation in mind.
• Coalition models are effective in systems which require cross-community representation, such as the Northern Irish model we will explore later.
• Coalition governments, in light of these other features, tend to put less emphasis on a strong singular head of state and prioritise cooperation between representatives.

History of coalition governments

Every country's electoral system has evolved due to a specific political history and culture, which means some countries are more likely to end up with a coalition government than others. So here we will discuss the history fo coalition governments inside and outside of Europe.

Coalitions in Europe

Coalition governments are common in European countries. Let's look at the examples of Finland, Switzerland and Europe.

Coalition Government: Finland

Finland's proportional representation (PR) system has remained essentially unchanged since 1917 when the nation gained independence from Russia. Finland has a history of coalition governments, meaning that Finnish parties tend to approach elections with a degree of pragmatism. In 2019, after the centre-left SDP party made electoral gains in Parliament, they entered a coalition comprised of the Centre Party, Green League, Left Alliance and Swedish People's Party. This alliance was formed to keep the right-wing populist Finns Party out of government after they made electoral gains.

Coalition Government: Switzerland

Switzerland is governed by a coalition of four parties which have remained in power since 1959. The Swiss government is composed of the Free Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party, Christian Democratic Party, and the Swiss People's Party. Like Finland, members of the Swiss Parliament are elected according to a proportional system. In Switzerland, this is known as the "magic formula" as its system distributes seven ministerial positions between each of the major parties

Coalition Government: Italy

In Italy, things are more complicated. After the fall of Mussolini's Fascist regime in 1943, an electoral system was developed to encourage coalition governments. This is known as a Mixed Electoral System, which adopts elements of FPTP and PR. During elections, the first vote takes place in small districts using FPTP. Next, PR is used in large electoral districts. Oh, and Italian nationals living overseas also have their votes included using PR. Italy's electoral system encourages coalition governments, but not stable ones. The average lifespan for Italian governments is less than a year.

Fig. 1 Campaign posters found in Finland during the 2019 election, which resulted in a broad coalition with the SDP at the head of the government

Coalitions Outside of Europe

Although we most commonly see coalition governments in Europe, we can also see them outside of Europe.

Coalition Government: India

The first coalition government in India to govern for a full five-year term was elected at the turn of the last century (1999 to 2004). This was a coalition was known as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and was led by the right-wing nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. In 2014, the NDA was elected again under the leadership of Narendra Modi, who remains the country's president today.

Coalition Government: Japan

Japan currently has a coalition government. In 2021, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner Komeito, won 293 out of 465 seats in Parliament. In 2019 the LDP and Komeito celebrated their 20th anniversary since their initial formation of a coalition government.

Coalition government reasons

There are many reasons why certain countries and parties form coalition governments. The most significant are proportional voting systems, power, and national crises.

Proportional voting systems tend to produce multiparty systems, which lead to coalition governments. This is because many proportional representation voting systems allow voters to rank candidates by preference, thus boosting the odds of several parties winning seats. Proponents of PR argue that it is more representative than winner-takes-all voting systems used in places like Westminster.

• Power

Although the formation of a coalition government reduces the dominance of any single political party, power is one of the main motivations parties have for forming a coalition government. Despite having to compromise on policies, a political party would rather have some power than none at all. Furthermore, coalition-based systems encourage the diffusion of decision-making and influence in countries where power has been historically centralised by authoritarian regimes (such as Italy).

• National crisis

Another factor that can lead to a coalition government is a national crisis. This could be some form of disagreement, a constitutional or succession crisis, or sudden political turmoil. For example, coalitions are formed in times of war to centralise the national effort.

Advantages of a Coalition government

In addition to these reasons, there are a number of advantages to having a coalition government. You can see some of the biggest in the table below.

Despite this, there are of course disadvantages of having a coalition government.

Coalition governments in the UK

Coalition governments aren't common in the UK, but there is one example of a coalition government from recent history.

Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition 2010

In the 2010 UK general election, David Cameron's Conservative Party won 306 seats in Parliament, less than the 326 seats required for a majority. With the Labour Party gaining 258 seats, neither party had an outright majority - a situation referred to as a hung parliament. As a result, the Liberal Democrats, led by Nick Clegg and with 57 seats of their own, found themselves in a position of political leverage.

Eventually, the Liberal Democrats agreed a deal with the Conservative Party to form a coalition government. One of the key aspects of the negotiations was the voting system used to elect MPs in Westminster.

Fig. 2 David Cameron (left) and Nick Clegg (right), the leaders of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, pictured together in 2015

The Conservative Party had opposed plans to reform the FPTP electoral system, used to elect MPs in Westminster. The Liberal Democrats advocated a proportional voting system to produce more diverse parliaments. The Conservative Party therefore agreed to hold a referendum on the introduction of the Alternative Vote (AV) system for Westminster elections.

The referendum was held in 2011 but failed to garner support among the electorate - 70% of voters rejected the AV system. Over the next five years, the coalition government implemented several economic policies - which have come to be known as 'austerity measures' - which changed the landscape of British politics.