A coalition government , or coalition cabinet , is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive . Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election . A party not having majority is common under proportional representation , but not in nations with majoritarian electoral systems .
106-477: The common minimum programme (CMP) is a document outlining the shared agenda, policy, and priorities of a coalition government in India and Nepal . It provides a framework for government operations, ensuring that all participating parties share a common understanding of the key issues and goals they aim to collectively address. The idea of CMP document has acquired prominence since coalition governments have become
212-525: A Coalition Government with confidence and supply from the Green Party . During the 2023 general election , National won 49 seats, ACT won eleven and New Zealand First won eight formed a coalition government . 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
318-629: A caretaker government as no coalition could be formed. In 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 cross
424-644: A consensus government with a coalition of the four strongest parties in parliament since 1959, called the " Magic Formula ". Between 2010 and 2015, the United Kingdom also operated a formal coalition between the Conservative and the Liberal Democrat parties, but this was unusual: the UK usually has a single-party majority government. Not every parliament forms a coalition government, for example
530-558: A case alleging electoral malpractice. In June 1975, Indira was found guilty and barred by the High Court from holding public office for six years. In response, a state of emergency was declared under the pretext of national security. The next election resulted in the formation of India 's first ever national coalition government under the prime ministership of Morarji Desai , which was also the first non-Congress national government. It existed from 24 March 1977 to 15 July 1979, headed by
636-612: A coalition of the Social Democrats, Venstre , and the Moderates . When the Social Democrats under Stauning won 46% of the votes in the 1935 election , this was the closest any party has gotten to winning an outright majority in parliament since 1918. One party has thus never held a majority alone, and even one-party governments have needed to have confidence agreements with at least one other party to govern. For example, though Frederiksen's first government only consisted of
742-711: A coalition with a smaller party. For example, from 1982 to 1998, the country was governed by a coalition of the CDU/CSU with the minor Free Democratic Party (FDP); from 1998 to 2005, a coalition of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the minor Greens held power. The CDU/CSU comprises an alliance of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany and Christian Social Union in Bavaria , described as "sister parties" which form
848-405: 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 backfired in the subsequent 1952 British Columbia general election where, to the surprise of many,
954-456: A goal to create a typology or taxonomy of polities , as typologies of political systems are not obvious. It is especially important in the political science fields of comparative politics and international relations . Like all categories discerned within forms of government, the boundaries of government classifications are either fluid or ill-defined. Superficially, all governments have an official de jure or ideal form. The United States
1060-425: A governing body, such as a legislature or jury . Some governments combine both direct and indirect democratic governance, wherein the citizenry selects representatives to administer day-to-day governance, while also reserving the right to govern directly through popular initiatives , referendums (plebiscites), and the right of recall . In a constitutional democracy the powers of the majority are exercised within
1166-578: A joint parliamentary group, and for this purpose are always considered a single party. Coalition arrangements are often given names based on the colours of the parties involved, such as "red-green" for the SPD and Greens. Coalitions of three parties are often named after countries whose flags contain those colours, such as the black-yellow-green Jamaica coalition . Grand coalitions of the two major parties also occur, but these are relatively rare, as they typically prefer to associate with smaller ones. However, if
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#17327825447681272-463: A narrower scope, such as the government of Portugal , which is actually more similar to the concept of "administration" . The moment and place that the phenomenon of human government developed is lost in time; however, history does record the formations of early governments. About 5,000 years ago, the first small city-states appeared. By the third to second millenniums BC, some of these had developed into larger governed areas: Sumer , ancient Egypt ,
1378-506: A role in diminishing internal political strife. In such times, parties have formed all-party coalitions ( national unity governments , grand coalitions ). If a coalition collapses, the prime minister and cabinet may be ousted by a vote of no confidence , call snap elections , form a new majority coalition, or continue as a minority government . For a coalition to come about the coalition partners need to compromise on their policy expectations. One coalition or probing partner must lose for
1484-797: A single political party. Due to the social nature of the country, the first federal government was formed by a three-party Alliance coalition, composed of the United Malays National Organisations (UMNO) , the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) , and the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) . It was later expanded and rebranded as Barisan Nasional (BN) , which includes parties representing the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak . The 2018 Malaysian general election saw
1590-404: 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 Katainen cabinet was also a rainbow coalition of a total of five parties. In Germany, coalition governments are the norm, as it
1696-407: A standalone entity or as a hybrid system of the main three. Scholars generally refer to a dictatorship as either a form of authoritarianism or totalitarianism. An autocracy is a system of government in which supreme power is concentrated in the hands of one person, whose decisions are subject to neither external legal restraints nor regularized mechanisms of popular control (except perhaps for
1802-477: A striking parallel with star formation, new structures suddenly appeared, together with a new level of complexity. Like stars, cities and states reorganize and energize the smaller objects within their gravitational field. Another explanation includes the need to properly manage infrastructure projects such as water infrastructure. Historically, this required centralized administration and complex social organisation, as seen in regions like Mesopotamia. However, there
1908-459: 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 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 (LDP) held a legislative majority of its own in
2014-428: A variety of hybrid regimes . Modern classification systems also include monarchies as a standalone entity or as a hybrid system of the main three. Historically prevalent forms of government include monarchy, aristocracy , timocracy , oligarchy , democracy , theocracy , and tyranny . These forms are not always mutually exclusive, and mixed governments are common. The main aspect of any philosophy of government
2120-477: Is a coalition of seven parties led by the major centre-left PDIP to let governing big tent Onward Indonesia Coalition In 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 members of parliament (TDs). Ireland's first coalition government
2226-493: Is a federal constitutional republic, while the former Soviet Union was a federal socialist republic . However self-identification is not objective, and as Kopstein and Lichbach argue, defining regimes can be tricky, especially de facto , when both its government and its economy deviate in practice. For example, Voltaire argued that "the Holy Roman Empire is neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire". In practice,
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#17327825447682332-429: Is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, elite ruling class , such as a hereditary nobility or privileged caste . This class exercises minority rule , often as a landed timocracy , wealthy plutocracy , or oligarchy . Many monarchies were aristocracies, although in modern constitutional monarchies, the monarch may have little effective power. The term aristocracy could also refer to
2438-597: Is a means by which organizational policies are enforced, as well as a mechanism for determining policy. In many countries, the government has a kind of constitution , a statement of its governing principles and philosophy. While all types of organizations have governance , the term government is often used more specifically to refer to the approximately 200 independent national governments and subsidiary organizations . The main types of modern political systems recognized are democracies , totalitarian regimes , and, sitting between these two, authoritarian regimes with
2544-448: Is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head . The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and constituent political units, variously called states, provinces or otherwise. Federalism is a system based upon democratic principles and institutions in which
2650-886: Is also found in the states of New South Wales and 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. Coalition governments involving the Labor Party and the Australian Greens have occurred at state and territory level , for example following
2756-605: Is archaeological evidence that shows similar successes with more egalitarian and decentralized complex societies. Starting at the end of the 17th century, the prevalence of republican forms of government grew. The English Civil War and Glorious Revolution in England, the American Revolution , and the French Revolution contributed to the growth of representative forms of government. The Soviet Union
2862-471: Is called an aristocracy. In other kinds of Commonwealth there can be none: for either one, or more, or all, must have the sovereign power (which I have shown to be indivisible) entire. According to Yale professor Juan José Linz , there a three main types of political systems today: democracies , totalitarian regimes and, sitting between these two, authoritarian regimes with hybrid regimes . Another modern classification system includes monarchies as
2968-426: Is how political power is obtained, with the two main forms being electoral contest and hereditary succession . A government is the system to govern a state or community. The Columbia Encyclopedia defines government as "a system of social control under which the right to make laws, and the right to enforce them, is vested in a particular group in society". While all types of organizations have governance ,
3074-407: Is no direct responsibility within the governing parties in the coalition. Retrospective voting has a huge influence on the outcome of an election. However, the risk of retrospective voting is a lot weaker with coalition governments than in single party governments. Within the coalition, the party with the head of state has the biggest risk of retrospective voting. Governing parties lose votes in
3180-513: Is rare for a party to win a full majority, they must form coalitions with other parties. For example, from 1996 to 1998, the country was governed by a coalition of the National with the minor NZ First ; from 1999 to 2002, a coalition of the Labour and the minor Alliance and with confidence and supply from the Green Party held power. Between 2017 and 2020, Labour , New Zealand First formed
3286-473: Is rare for any single party to win a majority in parliament. The German political system makes extensive use of the constructive vote of no confidence , which requires governments to control an absolute majority of seats. Every government since the foundation of the Federal Republic in 1949 has involved at least two political parties. Typically, governments involve one of the two major parties forming
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3392-581: Is to be reconceptualised where in times of climatic change the needs and desires of the individual are reshaped to generate sufficiency for all. The quality of a government can be measured by Government effectiveness index , which relates to political efficacy and state capacity . List of forms of government Plato in his book The Republic (375 BC) divided governments into five basic types (four being existing forms and one being Plato's ideal form, which exists "only in speech"): These five regimes progressively degenerate starting with aristocracy at
3498-421: Is typically the case with majority governments, but even a minority government may consist of just one party unable to find a willing coalition partner at the moment. A state that continuously maintains a single-party government within a (nominally) multiparty system possesses a dominant-party system . In a (nondemocratic) one-party system a single ruling party has the (more-or-less) exclusive right to form
3604-624: The 16th general election in May 2014, the BJP secured a majority on its own (becoming the first party to do so since the 1984 election), and the National Democratic Alliance came into power, with Narendra Modi as Prime Minister. In 2019, Narendra Modi was re-elected as Prime Minister as the National Democratic Alliance again secured a majority in the 17th general election . India returned to an NDA led coalition government in 2024 as
3710-624: The 2004 Indian general election , had objectives such as education spending, limiting privatization, economic growth, social welfare, and "maintaining a credible nuclear weapons programme". Besides India, Nepal also releases common minimum programme documents. It first happened in 2004 when the Nepali Congress (Democratic) formed a coalition. Coalition government There are different forms of coalition governments, minority coalitions and surplus majority coalition governments. A surplus majority coalition government controls more than
3816-434: The 2010 Tasmanian state election and the 2016 and 2020 Australian Capital Territory elections. In Belgium , a nation internally divided along linguistic lines (primarily between Dutch -speaking Flanders in the north and French-speaking Wallonia in the south, with Brussels also being by and large Francophone), each main political disposition ( Social democracy , liberalism , right-wing populism , etc.) is, with
3922-732: The European Parliament . 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. The country was governed by the My Step Alliance coalition after successfully gaining a majority in the National Assembly of Armenia following the 2018 Armenian parliamentary election . In federal Australian politics ,
4028-618: The Indian National Congress , the major political party instrumental in the Indian independence movement , ruled the nation. The first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru , his successor Lal Bahadur Shastri , and the third Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi , were all members of the Congress party. However, Raj Narain , who had unsuccessfully contested an election against Indira from the constituency of Rae Bareli in 1971, lodged
4134-683: The Indus Valley civilization , and the Yellow River civilization . One reason that explains the emergence of governments includes agriculture. Since the Neolithic Revolution , agriculture has been an efficient method to create food surplus. This enabled people to specialize in non-agricultural activities. Some of them included being able to rule over others as an external authority. Others included social experimentation with diverse governance models. Both these activities formed
4240-661: The Irish Civil War (1922–23). A similar situation exists in 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 , an alliance of the 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
4346-565: The Janata Party , an amalgam of political parties opposed to the emergency imposed between 1975 and 1977. As the popularity of the Janata Party dwindled, Desai had to resign, and Chaudhary Charan Singh , a rival of his, became the fifth Prime Minister. However, due to lack of support, this coalition government did not complete its five-year term. Congress returned to power in 1980 under Indira Gandhi, and later under Rajiv Gandhi as
Common minimum programme - Misplaced Pages Continue
4452-545: The Nordic countries , the Benelux countries, Australia , Austria , Brazil , Chile , Cyprus , East Timor , France , Germany , Greece , Guinea-Bissau , India , Indonesia , Ireland , Israel , Italy , Japan , Kenya , Kosovo , Latvia , Lebanon , Lesotho , Lithuania , Malaysia , Nepal , New Zealand , Pakistan , Thailand , Spain , Trinidad and Tobago , Turkey , and Ukraine . Switzerland has been ruled by
4558-568: The United Farmers of Ontario and the 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
4664-597: 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
4770-513: The 2nd Republic, and have been common in some specific Autonomous Communities since the 1980s. 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. Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state . In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature , executive , and judiciary . Government
4876-508: The BJP failed to achieve an outright majority. As a result of the toppling of Suharto , political freedom is significantly increased. Compared to only three parties allowed to exist in the New Order era, a total of 48 political parties participated in the 1999 election and always a total of more than 10 parties in next elections. There are no majority winner of those elections and coalition governments are inevitable. The current government
4982-534: The CDU/CSU became Chancellor while the SPD was granted the majority of cabinet posts. Coalition formation has become increasingly complex as voters increasingly migrate away from the major parties during the 2000s and 2010s. While coalitions of more than two parties were extremely rare in preceding decades, they have become common on the state level. These often include the liberal FDP and the Greens alongside one of
5088-416: 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 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
5194-477: 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
5300-449: The LDP entered a coalition government followed its third loss of its House of Representatives majority in the 1983 House of Representatives general election . The LDP- New Liberal Club 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
5406-545: The LDP from power for the first time to break up in less than a year, and the 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. Ever since Malaysia gained independence in 1957 , none of its federal governments have ever been controlled by
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#17327825447685512-866: The Manitoba Liberals (eventually, the two parties would merge into the 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
5618-496: The National Diet until 1989 (when it initially continued to govern alone), 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
5724-611: The Social Democrats, it also relied on the support of the Social Liberal Party , the Socialist People's Party , and the Red–Green Alliance . In 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 ( Lipponen I and II ) since independence with a five-party governing coalition,
5830-772: The Soviet Union was a centralized autocratic one-party state under Joseph Stalin . Identifying a form of government is also difficult because many political systems originate as socio-economic movements and are then carried into governments by parties naming themselves after those movements; all with competing political ideologies. Experience with those movements in power, and the strong ties they may have to particular forms of government, can cause them to be considered as forms of government in themselves. Other complications include general non-consensus or deliberate " distortion or bias " of reasonable technical definitions of political ideologies and associated forms of governing, due to
5936-733: 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, 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
6042-609: The United States has been chiefly associated with right-wing politics and the Republican Party . However, during the era of segregation many Southern Democrats were conservatives, and they played a key role in the conservative coalition that controlled Congress from 1937 to 1963. Opinions vary by individuals concerning the types and properties of governments that exist. "Shades of gray" are commonplace in any government and its corresponding classification. Even
6148-434: The absolute majority of seats in parliament necessary to have a majority in the government, whereas minority coalition governments do not hold the majority of legislative seats. A coalition government may 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 political legitimacy or collective identity , it can also play
6254-429: The activities of associated government officials and candidates for office. In a multiparty system of government, multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government offices, typically by competing in elections , although the effective number of parties may be limited. A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties together holding an absolute majority of seats in
6360-402: The basis of governments. These governments gradually became more complex as agriculture supported larger and denser populations, creating new interactions and social pressures that the government needed to control. David Christian explains As farming populations gathered in larger and denser communities, interactions between different groups increased and the social pressure rose until, in
6466-471: The coalition parties do not share the same policy ideas. Hence, a more detailed written formulation of the issue helps parties in the coalition to limit 'agency loss' when the ministry overseeing that issue is managed by another coalition party. Coalition governments can also impact voting behavior by diminishing the clarity of responsibility. Electoral accountability is harder to achieve in coalition governments than in single party governments because there
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#17327825447686572-464: The conservative Liberal , National , Country Liberal and Liberal National parties are united in a coalition, known simply as the Coalition . While nominally two parties, 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 , with the Coalition and the Labor Party being the major parties. This coalition
6678-561: 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 ( 46th , 47th , initially 49th cabinet) interchanged with technical minority governments and cabinets without technical control of
6784-489: The election after their legislative period, this is called “the governing cost”. In comparison, a single- party government has a higher electoral cost, than a party that holds the office of the prime minister. Furthermore, the party that holds the office of prime minister suffer less electoral costs, then a junior coalition partner, when looking only on the electoral cost created by being in the coalition government. Countries which often operate with coalition cabinets include:
6890-685: The exception of the far-left Workers' Party of Belgium , split between Francophone and Dutch-speaking parties (e.g. the Dutch-speaking Vooruit and French-speaking Socialist Party being the two social-democratic parties). In the 2019 federal election , no party got more than 17% of the vote. Thus, forming a coalition government is an expected and necessary part of Belgian politics. In Belgium, coalition governments containing ministers from six or more parties are not uncommon; consequently, government formation can take an exceptionally long time. Between 2007 and 2011 , Belgium operated under
6996-717: The first non-BN coalition federal government in the country's electoral history, formed through an alliance between the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition and the Sabah Heritage Party (WARISAN) . The federal government formed after the 2020–2022 Malaysian political crisis was the first to be established through coordination between multiple political coalitions. This occurred when the newly formed Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition partnered with BN and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) . In 2022 after its registration, Sabah-based Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) formally joined
7102-432: 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. 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 federal coalition government since Confederation if the minority Conservative government
7208-570: The framework of representative democracy, but the constitution limits majority rule , usually through the provision by all of certain universal rights , such as freedom of speech or freedom of association . A republic is a form of government in which the country is considered a "public matter" ( Latin : res publica ), not the private concern or property of the rulers, and where offices of states are subsequently directly or indirectly elected or appointed rather than inherited. The people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over
7314-811: The functions and number of branches. An independent, parallel distribution of powers between branches of government is the separation of powers . A shared, intersecting, or overlapping distribution of powers is the fusion of powers . Governments are often organised into three branches with separate powers: a legislature, an executive, and a judiciary; this is sometimes called the trias politica model. However, in parliamentary and semi-presidential systems , branches of government often intersect, having shared membership and overlapping functions. Many governments have fewer or additional branches, such as an independent electoral commission or auditory branch. Presently, most governments are administered by members of an explicitly constituted political party which coordinates
7420-495: The government (though it had been a part of an informal coalition since 2020). The current government led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is composed of four political coalitions and 19 parties. MMP was introduced in New Zealand in the 1996 election . In order to get into power, parties need to get a total of 50% of the approximately (there can be more if an Overhang seat exists) 120 seats in parliament – 61. Since it
7526-628: The government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. A common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of state is not a monarch. Montesquieu included both democracies , where all the people have a share in rule, and aristocracies or oligarchies , where only some of the people rule, as republican forms of government. Other terms used to describe different republics include democratic republic , parliamentary republic , semi-presidential republic , presidential republic , federal republic , people's republic , and Islamic republic . Federalism
7632-401: The government, and the formation of other parties may be obstructed or illegal. In some cases, a government may have a non-partisan system , as is the case with absolute monarchy or non-partisan democracy . Democracy is the most popular form of government. More than half of the nations in the world are democracies—97 of 167, as of 2021. However, the world is becoming more authoritarian with
7738-418: 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. Several coalition governments have been formed within provincial politics. As a result of the 1919 Ontario election ,
7844-514: The head of each party for two years, and they switched roles in 1986. In Japan , controlling a majority in the House of Representatives is enough to decide the 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 vote automatically after
7950-555: The implicit threat of a coup d'état or mass insurrection ). Absolute monarchy is a historically prevalent form of autocracy, wherein a monarch governs as a singular sovereign with no limitation on royal prerogative . Most absolute monarchies are hereditary , however some, notably the Holy See , are elected by an electoral college (such as the college of cardinals , or prince-electors ). Other forms of autocracy include tyranny , despotism , and dictatorship . Aristocracy
8056-484: The literature of classical antiquity , including Plato 's Ship of State . In British English , "government" sometimes refers to what's also known as a " ministry " or an " administration ", i.e., the policies and government officials of a particular executive or governing coalition . Finally, government is also sometimes used in English as a synonym for rule or governance. In other languages, cognates may have
8162-468: The major parties are unable to assemble a majority, a grand coalition may be the only practical option. This was the case following the 2005 federal election , in which the incumbent SPD–Green government was defeated but the opposition CDU/CSU–FDP coalition also fell short of a majority. A grand coalition government was subsequently formed between the CDU/CSU and the SPD. Partnerships like these typically involve carefully structured cabinets: Angela Merkel of
8268-457: The major parties, or "red–red–green" coalitions of the SPD, Greens, and The Left . In the eastern states , dwindling support for moderate parties has seen the rise of new forms of grand coalitions such as the Kenya coalition . The rise of populist parties also increases the time that it takes for a successful coalition to form. By 2016, the Greens were participating eleven governing coalitions on
8374-436: 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,
8480-567: 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
8586-531: The most liberal democracies limit rival political activity to one extent or another while the most tyrannical dictatorships must organize a broad base of support thereby creating difficulties for " pigeonholing " governments into narrow categories. Examples include the claims of the United States as being a plutocracy rather than a democracy since some American voters believe elections are being manipulated by wealthy Super PACs . Some consider that government
8692-463: The nature of politics in the modern era. For example: The meaning of "conservatism" in the United States has little in common with the way the word's definition is used elsewhere. As Ribuffo notes, "what Americans now call conservatism much of the world calls liberalism or neoliberalism "; a "conservative" in Finland would be labeled a " socialist " in the United States. Since the 1950s conservatism in
8798-550: The non- peasant , non-servant, and non- city classes in the feudal system . Democracy is a system of government where citizens exercise power by voting and deliberation . In a direct democracy , the citizenry as a whole directly forms a participatory governing body and vote directly on each issue. In indirect democracy , the citizenry governs indirectly through the selection of representatives or delegates from among themselves, typically by election or, less commonly, by sortition . These select citizens then meet to form
8904-401: The norm has been coalition governments, though there have been periods where single-party governments were frequent, such as the decade after the end of World War II , during the 1970s, and in the late 2010s. Every government from 1982 until the 2015 elections were coalitions. While Mette Frederiksen 's first government only consisted of her own Social Democrats , her second government is
9010-858: The norm in India in 1990s. The United Front , a coalition government established in 1996, emphasized secularism, economic reforms, social justice, and empowerment of marginalized groups through its Common Minimum Programme. In 1998, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), spearheaded by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), assumed power. Its Common Minimum Programme prioritized national security, economic growth, infrastructure development, and effective governance. Additionally, it aimed to foster social cohesion, reinforce federalism, and tackle issues pertaining to agriculture and rural progress. The Indian National Congress -led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition which won
9116-429: The other one to win, to achieve a Nash equilibrium , which is necessary for a coalition to form. If the parties are not willing to compromise, the coalition will not come about. Before parties form a coalition government, they formulate a coalition agreement, in which they state what policies they try to adapt in the legislative period. In multi-party states , a coalition agreement is an agreement negotiated between
9222-405: The parliament, in contrast to a minority government in which they have only a plurality of seats and often depend on a confidence-and-supply arrangement with other parties. A coalition government is one in which multiple parties cooperate to form a government as part of a coalition agreement . In a single-party government, a single party forms a government without the support of a coalition, as
9328-407: The parties that form a coalition government. It codifies the most important shared goals and objectives of the cabinet. It is often written by the leaders of the parliamentary groups . Coalitions that have a written agreement are more productive than those that do not. If an issue is discussed more deeply and in more detail in chamber than what appears in the coalition agreement, it indicates that
9434-458: The people as a whole (a democracy, such as a republic). Thomas Hobbes stated on their classification: The difference of Commonwealths consisteth in the difference of the sovereign , or the person representative of all and every one of the multitude. And because the sovereignty is either in one man, or in an assembly of more than one; and into that assembly either every man hath right to enter, or not everyone, but certain men distinguished from
9540-538: The polls in 1998. The first successful coalition government in India which completed a whole five-year term was the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance with Atal Bihari Vajpayee as Prime Minister from 1999 to 2004. Then another coalition, the 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
9646-432: The power to govern is shared between national and provincial/state governments, creating what is often called a federation . Proponents are often called federalists . Governments are typically organised into distinct institutions constituting branches of government each with particular powers , functions, duties, and responsibilities. The distribution of powers between these institutions differs between governments, as do
9752-461: The rest; it is manifest there can be but three kinds of Commonwealth. For the representative must need to be one man or more; and if more, then it is the assembly of all, or but of a part. When the representative is one man, then is the Commonwealth a monarchy; when an assembly of all that will come together, then it is a democracy or popular Commonwealth; when an assembly of a part only, then it
9858-474: 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 1984–1988 . The premiership and foreign ministry portfolio were held by
9964-486: 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
10070-417: The sixth Prime Minister. However, the general election of 1989 once again brought a coalition government under 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 eleventh parliament produced three Prime Ministers in two years and forced the country back to
10176-414: The state level in seven different constellations. During campaigns, parties often declare which coalitions or partners they prefer or reject. This tendency toward fragmentation also spread to the federal level, particularly during the 2021 federal election , which saw the CDU/CSU and SPD fall short of a combined majority of votes for the first time in history. After India's Independence on 15 August 1947,
10282-401: The top and tyranny at the bottom. In his Politics , Aristotle elaborates on Plato's five regimes discussing them in relation to the government of one, of the few, and of the many. From this follows the classification of forms of government according to which people have the authority to rule: either one person (an autocracy , such as monarchy), a select group of people (an aristocracy), or
10388-690: 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. 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 second government and Denmark's first coalition government in 1929. Since then,
10494-475: The word government is often used more specifically to refer to the approximately 200 independent national governments on Earth, as well as their subsidiary organizations, such as state and provincial governments as well as local governments . The word government derives from the Greek verb κυβερνάω [ kubernáo ] meaning to steer with a gubernaculum (rudder), the metaphorical sense being attested in
10600-518: Was as a junior coalition party to Fine Gael . The exception was a government with Fianna Fáil from 1993 to 1994. The 29th Government of Ireland (2011–16), was a grand coalition of the two largest parties, as Fianna Fáil had fallen to third place in the Dáil. The current government is a Fianna Fáil , Fine Gael and the Green Party . It is the first time Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have served in government together, having derived from opposing sides in
10706-630: Was defeated on a vote of non-confidence, unseating Stephen Harper as Prime Minister. The agreement outlined a formal coalition consisting of two opposition parties, the Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party . The Bloc Québécois agreed to support the proposed coalition on confidence matters for 18 months. In the end, parliament was prorogued by the Governor General , and the coalition dispersed before parliament
10812-488: Was formed after the 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 has been in government on eight occasions. On all but one of those occasions, it
10918-634: Was given to a junior coalition partner: the 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 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
11024-505: Was reconvened. According to 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
11130-502: Was the first large country to have a Communist government. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall , liberal democracy has become an even more prevalent form of government. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, there was a significant increase in the size and scale of government at the national level. This included the regulation of corporations and the development of the welfare state . In political science, it has long been
11236-545: 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 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
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