Grand coalition
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A grand coalition is a coalition government in a multi-party parliamentary system where the two largest political parties unite in a coalition. The term is most commonly used in countries where there are two dominant parties with different ideological orientations, and a number of smaller parties which are large enough to secure representation in the parliament. The two large parties will each try to secure enough seats in any election to have a majority government alone, and if this fails each will attempt to form a coalition with smaller parties that have a similar ideological orientation. Because the two large parties will tend to differ on major ideological issues, and portray themselves as rivals, or even sometimes enemies, they will usually find it more difficult to agree on a common direction for a combined government with each other than with smaller parties.
Consequently, grand coalitions are rare.
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[edit] Causes of a grand coalition
Occasionally circumstances arise where normally opposing parties may find it desirable to form a government. One is a national crisis such as a war or depression, where people feel a need for national unity and stability that overcomes ordinary ideological differences. This is especially true where there is broad agreement about the best policy to deal with the crisis. In this case, a grand coalition may occur even when one party has enough seats to govern alone. An example would be the United Kingdom national governments during World War I and before and during World War II.
Another possibility is that the major parties may find they have more in common ideologically with each other than with the smaller parties, or that the fragmentation of the smaller parties is so great that no other coalition is stable. Examples include Austria, where the mainstream parties of the left and right have often formed grand coalitions to keep parties of the far left or far right out of government (an example of a cordon sanitaire), or Israel, where in some parliaments the fragmentation and intransigence of some of the smaller parties has made it easier to maintain a coherent platform with a grand coalition than with a narrow one. This is often done out of political necessity, to prevent an early election.
In some countries, the presence of persistent grand coalitions often frustrates voters and minor parties, who feel that it offers them no real choice in government. This makes protest votes more common in these countries.
[edit] German grand coalition
[edit] National level
In the post-war politics of Germany, two grand coalitions (Große Koalition) have been formed at the national level. Germany has historically tended to favor narrow coalitions between parties with closer natural alignments, such as SPD-FDP, SPD-Green or CDU/CSU-FDP coalitions. A grand coalition would be likely only if one of these natural alignments broke down, or if far left or far right parties were to secure significant representation in the Bundestag.
In 1966 the government was formed by the Social Democratic Party of Germany and the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, the two major political parties in the Federal Republic of Germany. The grand coalition in Germany was formed on 1 December 1966 as a result of arguments about tax rises between the CDU/CSU-FDP coalition of the time. The FDP ministers stood down and a new government was formed with the SPD under Kurt Georg Kiesinger of the CDU. This lasted until 1969. This grand coalition's time in power was marked by the student unrest in Germany as a result of its passing of the German Emergency Acts in 1968.
After the inconclusive result of the 2005 German federal election, neither of the traditional coalitions could form a majority government. An ideologically coherent coalition existed on the left, comprising the SPD, Greens, and the Left Party, but a desire to exclude the radical left from government (i.e. a cordon sanitaire) led the leaders of the SPD and the CDU/CSU to agree to form a grand coalition with CDU leader Angela Merkel as chancellor and an equal number of cabinet seats for each party. On November 11, 2005, the text of the agreement was presented to the public. The chancellor was elected on November 22, and the grand coalition government took office.
[edit] State level
Grand coalitions are more common at the state level in Germany. As of November 2007, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Schleswig-Holstein are governed by coalitions between the CDU and the SPD.
[edit] Other examples of grand coalitions
- The Province of Canada formed the Great Coalition of 1864–1867 which led directly to the Confederation of Canada.
- Canada, the Unionist Party of Canada a war time coalition of Liberals and Conservative from 1917-1920
- United Kingdom — Liberals and Conservatives — 1916–1922
- United Kingdom — Conservatives, most Liberals and some Labour — 1931–1945
- Israel — Likud and the Alignment/Labour — 1984–1990, 2001–2003 and others
- Switzerland — Coalition between four largest parties since 1959 (also called magic formula)
- Austria — Coalition between People's Party and Social Democratic Party — 1945–1966, 1986–2000 and since 2006
- Bulgaria — Coalition between the Bulgarian Socialist Party, the National Movement for Simeon II and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms — 2005–present
- Poland — Coalition between the Solidarity (OKP), Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR), Democratic Party (SD), and Peasants' Party (SL) — 1989–1990
- Portugal — Coalition between Socialist Party and Social Democratic Party — 1985–1987 (Central Block, Bloco Central)
- Iceland — since 2007 between the Independence Party and the Social Democratic Alliance
- U.S. Virgin Islands — since 2007, a grand coalition called the "People's Majority" has existed in the territorial legislature between the Democratic Party, the Independent Citizens Movement and Independents.
- Kenya — Since 2008 Grand Coalition between Party of National Unity (PNU) and Orange Democratic Movement(ODM) formed following the disputed presidential elections of December 2007.
- Netherlands: Between 1945 and 1959 several cabinets were formed in the Netherlands which consisted out of two main parties of the country, the social-democratic PvdA and the Catholic Katholieke Volkspartij, joined by more parties, which were not necessary for a parliamentary majority. The first one of which was the Schermerhorn administration. Other parties were included to give the cabinet and its far-reaching proposals, like the formation of a welfare state, a broad basis in parliament and society. During several other periods a Roman-Red coalition was formed by the PvdA and the KVP.
[edit] References
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