Dictionnaire de la Science Politique

Authors: Hermet, Badie, Birnbaum & Braud
Summary: In this short entry of about 150 words, the author stresses the meaning of a coalition government.
A coalition government is formed by ministers belonging to different political parties. This formula is used in pluralistic democracies when no party reaches an absolute majority in parliament or when, under particularly severe circumstances, consensus of all political forces is needed. Obviously, the larger the coalition, the more fragile it is due to the potential blackmail of each party threatening to leave the coalition with serious consequences for government politics.