Coalition government

coalitions include 2 different governments:

• The Grand coalition - includes representatives of the 2 main parties e.g. Angela Merkel in Germany
• Multi-party Calition - involves perhaps 3 or 4 different political parties e.g. Austria, Italy & the Netherlands
• Coalition of 1 major party & 1 minor third party e.g. Scotland from 1997 to 2007. The lib dems would be the most likely partner for a coalition in the UK

Coalitions are a result of more proportional systems than FPTP (first past the post) most of Europe have a proportional electoral system.

• The 3rd party - e.g. Lib dems - keep extremist tendancies in check
• Policies are more likely to benefit more of the electorate and is likely to have more support
• Coalition is based on consensus, working together, rather than the conflict of FPTP
• Although coalitions are associated with instability it is possible that it is overstated since even if the government collapses the policies continue

• Forming Coalitions can be difficult & slow as a deal has to be struck between all parties involved
• Major policies may be shelved as a decision cannot be reached over conterversial issues
• The creation of policies will be harder as the different parties will have different ideas & beliefs
• Coalitions are likely to be unstable because of the tension caused by the differing opinion of different parties.