Coalitions in Europe - Essay Example

? Coalitions in Europe A coalition government is usually depicted as an alternative to the single-party government. Taking the European countries as an example, it is possible to see whether coalition government is as effective as single-party one, and at the same time to determine, if the prosperity of the country significantly depends on the type of government. Discussing the history of coalitions, it is important to look through and analyze all the pros and cons of this approach. Analyzing the examples of two countries, the given paper will prove that coalition is not the best form of government for all the European states. Considering the importance of coalitions in Europe, it is essential to discuss the experience of England. Twice in its history England had to make difficult choice related to the formation of coalition government. The first time was after the World War II and the second in 2010, when David Cameron was the Prime Minister of the UK. Speaking about the after war period, it is essential to mention that human factor played a very important role, when the consequences of war such as great panic were considered. Introducing changes into the governmental system seemed the only correct and appropriate decision. According to David Cameron, the economic setback was the reason or motive force for this decision. No one can state for sure that this method or change could be beneficial for country in general. However, “the coalition could, and should, embark on new reforms, chipping away at the green belts that constrain development around big cities, for example. But its main task is to see through the revolution that it started in 2010. The programme is hugely ambitious, especially given the lack of money available. It is also broadly right—and some reforms that are not right, such as the elected police commissioners, cannot now be reversed. Even health reform can be rescued. Finishing the job would be good for Britain” (Britain’s coalition government. Divided they fall) Zakocs and Edwards state that in case when single party does not gain the majority during the elections, the variant with creating a different parties coalition and as a result provide the parliamentary support is the best one. Coalition is the most typical form of governments in Europe. This tendency is pretty understandable as all the political powers tend to fight for every seat in the parliament and by the means of coalition they obtain the possibility to get most of them. Ireland, Italy and Germany have the coalition government. The main dispute that arises is what is more favorable for country and what type is the most suitable. “Quite generally, a priori indices of voting power aim to illustrate the influence of actors deriving from weighted voting schemes. In their more traditional forms, they do not attempt – as this sometimes appears to be assumed – to provide a measure for the “effective power” of actors in a specific policy situation and policy domain. This latter aim can generally better be pursued by approaches related to the spatial theory of voting, assuming specific constellations in the distribution of preferences among actors and institutions” (Bilal & Hosli, 1999). Analyzing England as an example it is possible to make a conclusion that in difficult times the tendency to create coalitions appeared in order to overcome these difficulties. Certainly, there are explanations for such behavior or pattern. One of them is wish or necessity to work or better to say to interact with one another, like one team. According to Marie Hojnacki, “This [strategic engagement in coalitions] is especially true today because the growth in the number and diversity of organized interests in national politics has made it more difficult for any one group to dominate the decisions made within a particular policy area. To be effective, rational group leaders must choose strategies that enhance their chances for advocacy success.” (Hojnacki 1997, p.61 )”Coalitions have the number of advantages. It is evident that coalition governments represent majority of electorate. It is a fact that the opinion of each citizen is taken into account by coalition. It can be explained first of all by the peculiarities of the voting system in the country. In this case the proportional method works. It shows that with the help of proportional voting more interests can be revealed by the parliament and more people can feel their important role in ruling the country. Another benefit is in the cohesion of the political powers and parties; in order for the policy to be accepted it should be examined in more detailed way. Each party pays attention to each project and law. Of course, proposals can be rejected, as each party wants to confirm its right to be in the parliament and to express their electorate expectations. One more issue that can be considered as advantage is the consensus in the government and the possibility to approve a great amount of policies and proposals (Wood, 1989). While discussing a coalition government, it is essential to pay attention not only to its advantages, but also to disadvantages. Here it is possible to state that the minuses of this form of government impose a great impact on the country itself. There are many hesitations concerning the coexisting and co-working of two parties with absolutely different positions and views. Each party has its own targets and perspectives in parliament. As a result the state can get the vulnerable government that is not very good. The fact that any party has an opportunity to acquire better positions, creates problems when it comes to form a government. The coalition government due to its peculiarities is very contradictory in most cases. As a result, many minor political parties or groups acquire more power that is not fair. Consequently, we get the ineffective work of the parliament, the number of unsuccessful projects and many delays. “Establishing a separate entity by definition creates administrative redundancies and resource needs that are currently absorbed by members. and resource needs that are currently absorbed by members. There is a level of maintaining a “ongoing concern” that likely requires some level of regular fundraising. This may distract from the broader work of the coalition” (Raynor 2011, p21). When the pros and cons of the coalition government have been considered, it is essential to discuss also the pros and cons of its main alternative that is a single-party government. Unfortunately, single-party governments are not so common in Europe, but exist in Vietnam and China. The greatest advantage of single-party government is the process of decision making. In contrast to the coalitions, when each party should agree with the decision that should be passed, single-party governments open for parties the possibility to find the loopholes, if the proposal is not beneficial for them, and to delay or even cancel the project (Chavis, 2001). In order to see the pluses and minuses of the coalition in practice it is essential to look at Germany. The Grand Coalition that was formed in Germany in 2005 deserves to be considered. Before this period Germany had very weak governments due to the proportional elections up until World War II. After the war this problem was resolved due to the new electoral system, even despite the fact that it was still proportional. There was a percent barrier set in order for the party to make a choice if to be included in the lists. Such system helped gain the balance between powers in the parliament (Mizrahi, T and Rosenthal, 2001). Since 2005 a coalition in the country consists of two main parties CDU/CSU and SPD. Nevertheless, it had to experience both ups and downs untill it became so effective and successful. It is important to mention that election of 2005 had quite different character in contrast to the previous elections held in Germany. It happened due to several factors. First, the Democratic Chancellor initiated early elections, secondly, he asked his the party to vote against the government. A new political power, the Left Party was declared. This new power did not participate in any coalitions that could be formed, that was proclaimed during the voting campaign. It was powerful enough in order to struggle for its position in the parliament. It was the longest in the history of Germany period of creating a coalition. It took 65 days (Zakocs and Edwards, 2006). The institutional influence takes place always before the coalition government is created. Bicameralism and investiture vote are those aspects that help define which coalitions will be created. Investiture vote usually decreases the chances of the minority government; but does not eliminate them completely. The government in perspective has three options or possibilities to get the investiture vote. In the case of downfall the Federal President still has right to accept coalition or just to declare the new elections. The laws should be supported by the Bundesrat in order to be accepted. In elections, which were held in Germany in 2005 there were three coalitions that preceded the Grand Coalition. These coalitions did not gain the success. The so-called Jamaica coalition got 55% in Bundestag and 62% seats in the Bundesrat. Due to the number of parties and great variety of opinions the chances of such coalition were minimal. Another example is the Traffic light coalition that was unsuccessful as well. This coalition gained 50% seats in the Bundestag, but finally one of the Parties of this coalition had very steadfast position on economic and social issues and the coalition was failed. The third unsuccessful coalition consisted of SPD, Greens and Left Party. It got 53,3% seats in the Bundestag. The main reasons of failure were the limit of seats in the Bundesrat. Tension that existed due to the fact that two out of three parties were against the coalition during the election campaigns also played an important role. A great number of members left the SPD and entered Left Party. The grand coalition that was created in November 2005 had achieved success. This coalition got 73% seats in the Bundestag and 52% seats in the Bundesrat. It was formed by two parties such as CDU/CSU and SPD. It had a bicameral majority. Actually not all the experts agree that coalitions are the best form of government that can be used in Germany in particular. Notwithstanding that Chancellor Angela Merkel was expected to cope with the partisan deadlock and decree main policy changes, her attempts of cooperating and co-working brought only disagreements between the both parties. This situation was a perfect representation of great downfall of coalitions; moreover it made it possible to state that this situation and these disagreements could be avoided if the single-party government had been chosen. The coalition created in Germany undergoes much critic and is considered to be a threat for democracy, while the situation is quite different in the UK. According to David Cameron, “As our parties have worked together it has become increasingly clear to us that, although there are differences, there is also common ground. We share a conviction that the days of big government are over; that centralisation and top-down control have proved a failure” (Cameron, D. and Clegg, 2010). Speaking about coalitions, it is essential to mention the example of Greece. It is well-known fact that Greece is a member of European Union that suffered greatly from the consequences of the last crisis. Thus, it was decided to form coalition that. The new coalition was formed in 2012, but appeared to be very fragile and in the middle of 2013 the party Democratic Left decided to leave the coalition, thus Greece moved to two-party coalition government. The example of Greece also testifies that the coalitions are usually formed in the condition of crisis. The conclusion can be made that coalition is a good and beneficial form of government that was necessary to be introduced in many European countries. However, it is not beneficial for all the states and its usefulness should be also measured in terms of definite historical period. Many countries have to make coalitions after the period of crisis or after the period of war Thus, evaluating the advantages of coalitions, the case of every country should be considered separately. References Bilal, S, Hosli, M. O 1999. Connected Coalition Formation and Voting Power in the Council of the European Union: An Endogenous Policy Approach accessed November 5, 2013 at http://eipanl.com/public/public_publications/default_working.pdf Britain’s coalition government. Divided they fall 2013, accessed November 5, 2013. Economist.com at http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21569032-coalition-partners-are-growing-apart-bad-their-electoral-prospects-and Cameron, D. and Clegg, N 2010,The Coalition: our programme for government. Crown copyright Chavis, D 2001, “The Paradoxes and Promise of Community Coalitions.” American Journal of Community Psychology 29(2): 309-320. Hojnacki, M 1997, “Interest Groups’ Decisions to Join Alliances or Work Alone.” American Journal of Political Science 41(1): 61-87. Mizrahi, T and Rosenthal, B 2001. “Complexities of Coalition Building: Leaders’ Successes, Strategies, Struggles, and Solutions.” Social Work 46(1): 63-78. Raynor, J 2001,What Makes an Effective Coalition? Evidence-Based Indicators of Success. The California Endowment Wolff, T 2001, “A Practitioner’s Guide to Successful Coalitions.” American Journal of Community Psychology 29(2):173-191. Wood, C J 1989, “Challenging the Assumptions Underlying the Use of Participatory Decision-Making Strategies: A Longitudinal Case Study.” Small Group Research 20(4): 428- 448. Zakocs, R C. and Edwards E 2006, “What Explains Community Coalition Effectiveness?: A Review of the Literature.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 30(4): 351-361. Read More