coalition formation E gov in parlimentary system
Coalition Formation and Governance in Parliamentary Systems
Introduction
Continued discussion on coalition formation and functioning of coalition governments.
Focus on what types of parliamentary governments observed that do not align with the size principle.
Terminology Clarification
Government: In public discourse, refers to all aspects including officials, bureaucracies, executive, and legislature. In this course, specifically refers to:
The executive (Prime Minister and cabinet).
The context of accountability to parliament.
Government in contrast with the opposition.
Coalition: A group of political parties working together in government, as opposed to a single party government.
Types of Parliamentary Governments
Winning Coalitions
Minimal Winning Coalition:
Definition: A coalition that controls just over 50% of parliament.
Intended to be as small as possible.
Oversized Coalition: Coalitions including parties that are not strictly necessary for a majority.
Example: Coalition of parties B, C, D where B and D have enough seats to govern without C.
Important for policy cohesion, decision-making ease.
Reasons for Oversized Coalitions
Connectedness: Including a moderate party in discussions for bargaining and compromise.
Insurance Against Weak Discipline: To ensure enough support if some coalition members defect.
Addressing Unfaithfulness: Having multiple parties lowers the chance of blackmailing in negotiations.
Bicameral Parliaments: Need to ensure support in both houses, which might not align numerically.
Ideological Polarization: In a polarized system, parties may want to securely hold their coalition against extreme shifts.
Minority Governments
Definition and Explanation
Minority Government:
Definition: A government formed by a party (or coalition) that does not hold the majority of seats.
Necessitates external support from other parties to enact legislation.
Challenges: Why would such a government be established if it can be easily removed by the opposition?
Reasons for Establishing Minority Governments
Shadow Partners: External parties supporting policies without being formally part of the coalition.
Example: Italian Communist Party supported the Christian Democratic Party from the outside.
Confidence and Supply Agreements: Agreements to support on critical votes without full coalition membership.
Strong Bargaining Position: Large minority parties can establish themselves as essential partners in coalition discussions.
Coalition Formation Process
Duration and Variation
Variation in how long coalition formation takes after elections. Average times observed:
Belgium: From 2 to 148 days.
Sweden: Generally under one week.
United Kingdom: Surprisingly, takes longer than nations with frequent coalitions.
Role of Caretaker Governments
Previous governments remain in office as caretakers until a new government is confirmed, similar to a lame duck scenario.
How Coalition Governments Function
Coalition Agreement Issues
Coalition formation means parties must negotiate cabinet posts and policies.
Allocation often proportional to seats held by each party.
Importance of policy contracts: Outlines what the coalition seeks to accomplish.
Decision-Making Mechanisms
Contractual Governance: Parties create detailed agreements on policy actions and who will take the lead on certain issues.
Consensus Governance: Collective gatherings to negotiate policy issues as they arise.
Delegation: Allowing individual ministers from parties to govern their specific sectors with oversight mechanisms.
Coalition Governments’ Fragility and Causes of Collapse
Reasons for Government Fall
Loss of Parliamentary Confidence: Parliament can vote to remove government if confidence is lost.
Coalition Breakdown: If one coalition member leaves, the government might lose majority support.
Unexpected Events: Crises may arise from unforeseen circumstances leading to instability.
Transition to Presidential Systems
Distinction from Parliamentary Systems
Presidents are elected independently of the legislature with fixed terms.
The concerns of presidential systems include democratic breakdown, checks and balances leading to gridlock, and divergent mandates between branches.
Risks Associated with Presidentialism
Gridlock: Difficulty in executing policies due to conflicting agendas between branches.
Temporal Rigidity: Obstacles in adjusting governance structures when political conditions change.
Majoritarian Tendencies: Elections can create a president with the illusion of overwhelming support while opposing views linger.
Dual Democratic Legitimacies: Presidents and legislatures might operate at cross purposes due to differing electoral timelines.
Conclusion
Balancing power, maintaining coalitions in governance, and adapting to challenges are crucial for both parliamentary and presidential systems.
Awareness of the benefits and drawbacks of coalition governance can lead to more effective political strategies and better institutional designs.
Coalition Formation and Governance in Parliamentary Systems
Introduction
Continued discussion on coalition formation and functioning of coalition governments, building upon prior understandings of democratic institutions and party systems.
Focus on what types of parliamentary governments are observed that do not align with the strict predictions of the size principle, such as oversized and minority governments.
Terminology Clarification
Government: In public discourse, refers to all aspects including officials, bureaucracies, executive, and legislature. In this course, specifically refers to:
The executive (Prime Minister and cabinet) as the primary decision-making and administrative body.
The context of its accountability to parliament, where it must maintain the confidence of the legislative majority.
Government in contrast with the opposition parties that seek to challenge and eventually replace it.
Coalition: A group of political parties working together in government, typically sharing cabinet posts and a common policy agenda, as opposed to a single party government where one party holds an outright majority.
Decree: A formal order or proclamation issued by an executive authority that has the force of law, often without prior legislative approval from parliament or congress. Decrees are typically used in specific circumstances, such as emergencies, or when explicitly delegated legislative power by the legislature. While common in some presidential systems (e.g., executive orders), they can also appear in parliamentary systems, sometimes requiring subsequent parliamentary ratification.
Types of Parliamentary Governments
Winning Coalitions
Minimal Winning Coalition:
Definition: A coalition that controls just over 50% of parliament, holding the minimum number of seats required to pass legislation and survive confidence votes.
Intended to be as small as possible to maximize policy influence for each participating party and minimize the number of parties sharing portfolio benefits.
Oversized Coalition: Coalitions including parties that are not strictly necessary for a majority, often holding significantly more than 50% of parliamentary seats.
Example: Coalition of parties B, C, D where B and D together have enough seats to govern without C, but C is included nonetheless.
Important for policy cohesion, enabling broader consensus building and making decision-making easier by encompassing diverse viewpoints.
Reasons for Oversized Coalitions
Connectedness: Including a moderate or ideologically central party in discussions for bargaining and compromise can bridge divides and facilitate more stable agreements across a broader political spectrum.
Insurance Against Weak Discipline: To ensure enough support if some coalition members defect or vote against the government on specific issues, providing a buffer against internal dissent or unexpected absences.
Addressing Unfaithfulness: Having multiple parties lowers the chance of blackmailing in negotiations, as no single small party can threaten to collapse the government by withdrawing its support if its demands are not met.
Bicameral Parliaments: The need to ensure support in both houses of a bicameral parliament, which might not align numerically, requires a broader coalition to secure legislative passage in both chambers.
Ideological Polarization: In a highly polarized system, parties may want to securely hold their coalition against extreme shifts, incorporating a wider range of ideological positions to present a united and stable front.
Minority Governments
Definition and Explanation
Minority Government:
Definition: A government formed by a party (or coalition) that does not hold the majority of seats in parliament, meaning it relies on external support to pass legislation and survive confidence votes.
Necessitates external support from other parties to enact legislation, which can be informal or formalized through agreements.
Challenges: Such a government faces inherent instability and can be easily removed by the opposition through a vote of no confidence if external support is withdrawn or insufficient.
Reasons for Establishing Minority Governments
Shadow Partners: External parties supporting policies without being formally part of the coalition, often preferring to maintain their independence or avoid the costs of formal alliance. For instance, the Italian Communist Party supported the Christian Democratic Party from the outside in the 1970s, providing critical votes without entering the cabinet.
Confidence and Supply Agreements: Formal but limited agreements to support the government on critical votes (e.g., budget, confidence motions) without full coalition membership or sharing cabinet positions. This provides a minimum level of stability.
Strong Bargaining Position: A large minority party can establish itself as an essential partner in coalition discussions, often dictating policy terms in exchange for external support when no other viable majority coalition can be formed.
Coalition Formation Process
Duration and Variation
Significant variation in how long coalition formation takes after elections, influenced by factors like electoral fragmentation, ideological distance between parties, and institutional rules.
Average times observed:
Belgium: From 2 to 148 days, reflecting complex multi-party negotiations and linguistic divisions.
Sweden: Generally under one week, often due to clearer party system structures or pre-electoral pacts.
United Kingdom: Surprisingly, takes longer than nations with frequent coalitions, particularly when a hung parliament occurs, as the country is less accustomed to multi-party negotiations.
Role of Caretaker Governments
Previous governments generally remain in office as caretakers until a new government is confirmed, performing essential administrative functions but refraining from significant new policy initiatives, similar to a lame duck scenario in presidential systems.
How Coalition Governments Function
Coalition Agreement Issues
Coalition formation means parties must negotiate cabinet posts, which are typically allocated proportionally to the seats held by each party, and agree on a shared policy program.
Importance of policy contracts: These are detailed documents outlining specific legislation, budgetary priorities, and reform agendas the coalition seeks to accomplish during its term. They serve as a roadmap and a basis for accountability.
Decision-Making Mechanisms
Contractual Governance: Parties create detailed, often legally binding agreements on specific policy actions and who will take the lead on certain issues. Decisions are largely pre-determined by the coalition agreement.
Consensus Governance: Collective gatherings, often involving all coalition party leaders or ministers, to negotiate policy issues as they arise. Decisions require the general agreement of all partners, emphasizing give-and-take.
Delegation: Allowing individual ministers from specific parties to govern their assigned sectors with a degree of autonomy, but always under the oversight mechanisms established by the coalition agreement and through regular reporting to the cabinet.
Coalition Governments’ Fragility and Causes of Collapse
Reasons for Government Fall
Loss of Parliamentary Confidence: Parliament can vote to remove the government if confidence is lost, typically through a vote of no confidence or by rejecting a critical bill (e.g., the budget).
Coalition Breakdown: If one coalition member leaves due to irreconcilable policy differences or internal party pressure, the government might lose its majority support, leading to its collapse.
Unexpected Events: Crises, such as economic downturns, major scandals, or international conflicts, may arise from unforeseen circumstances leading to instability and the potential fall of the government.
Transition to Presidential Systems
Distinction from Parliamentary Systems
In presidential systems, presidents are elected independently of the legislature with fixed terms, unlike prime ministers who depend on parliamentary confidence.
The concerns of presidential systems include democratic breakdown, checks and balances leading to gridlock, and potentially divergent mandates between the executive and legislative branches.
Risks Associated with Presidentialism
Gridlock: Difficulty in executing policies due to conflicting agendas between a president and a legislature that may be controlled by opposing parties. This can lead to legislative paralysis.
Temporal Rigidity: Obstacles in adjusting governance structures or leadership when political conditions change abruptly, due to fixed terms for both the president and the legislature, making it harder to respond to new challenges.
Majoritarian Tendencies: Presidential elections can create a winner-take-all scenario where a president, even with a narrow victory, acts with the illusion of overwhelming popular support, potentially marginalizing opposing views and leading to confrontational politics.
Dual Democratic Legitimacies: Both presidents and legislatures might claim direct mandates from the people due to differing electoral timelines, which can create institutional rivalry and operational friction when their policy preferences clash.
Conclusion
Balancing power, maintaining stable coalitions in governance, and adapting to contemporary challenges are crucial for the effective functioning of both parliamentary and presidential systems.
Awareness of the benefits and drawbacks