The Netherlands are a good example of PR. They typically have 10-20 parties on the go. They always have coalitions.
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No one party has won a majority in modern history, thankfully. Governments are negotiated coalitions..
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The outcome is a very representative system which is stable in the long-term.
Decision making does take longer of course, but that's quite ok. Policies tend to be moderate and driven by consensus.
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Germany tend to have 6-7 major parties. Also they tend to always have coalitions. Very stable politics and again slow but predictable governance.
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Beligium are similar.
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Coaliations are very common in those countries, as well as Israel, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Switzerland.
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The best thing about Cooalitions is there is broader representation, extreme policies get moderated, compromise culture prevalent, and it can reduce polarised politics, because more middle ground exists, which is a good thing.
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The UK *could* move to more coalition-based politics, if they adopted PR, and also reframed political power away from "winner takes it all", to coalition bargaining is normal and expected. Desirable even.
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That's a mindset change away from, "I've won, so can do what I like for the majority" to "I've got to work with these other people, and reach a compromise."
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Those who don't "play nicely" with others would stumble in a coalition political process. Which is good, since should have checks and balances, IMHO. |
