I grew up in Belgium, which, with its system of proportional representation has “enjoyed” coalition governments for most of the 20th century. For the last decades coalitions of six or more parties have become the rule. On balance it is a negative experience, especially for the taxpayers.
Here is why:
- It gives disproportionate power to fringe parties whose few seats are needed to form a parliamentary majority; small parties hold the large parties to ransom;
- A few party leaders often secretly agree to form a coalition in smoky back rooms even before the electorate has voted, making the actual poll – bar the unexpected - quite irrelevant;
- Election promises mean even less as all is up for grabs when the different parties negotiate a detailed programme between themselves after the election;
- Instability as any party may pull out of the coalition at any moment over any politically propitious subject;
- Every coalition party has its pet projects, with grave spending implications;
- Grave economic consequences as coalition partners usually find it easier to agree on spending than on cuts;
- Never a clear political direction; government policy will pull in all directions as the parties' policies and beliefs may be quite contradictory, and each party has ministers who will put their beliefs before the coalition agreement reached with the others;
- Coalitions often enjoy a large majority in parliament, making the minority voters feel ostracised and disenfranchised – exactly the same claim proponents of proportional representation make in the UK;
- The mere existence of coalition governments entices voters to vote even more for fringe parties, resulting in a further fragmentation of the political landscape.