Support Party Strategies on Important Policy Issues: Results from Swedish Minority Governments

The survival of minority governments depends on support from non-cabinet parties that strive to safeguard government stability while also fulfilling their accountability to the electorate. This article argues that non-cabinet parties' propensity to support the government depends on their desire to uphold distinctiveness when accountability is at stake. This even applies to opposition parties that are officially committed to minority government support and, as a trade-off, receive policy pay-offs. By analysing opposition party voting in 23 years of Swedish minority governments (1991–2018), the article suggests that ideologically distant support parties are more likely to oppose the government on their core issues since compromise would involve too-large concessions. These results question our understanding of support party pay-offs as a trade-off for minority government support and highlight the rationality of entering a support agreement, which gives the support party a certain degree of policy influence while also keeping a distinct party profile.

Opposition Party Behavior and Minority Government Support

Opposition parties in minority governments are partly responsible for government stability without being able to neglect their accountability to the electorate, a dilemma that, as this book shows, has many electoral as well as policy advantages for opposition parties. This book’s analysis of opposition behavior in the Swedish Riksdag (1991–2018) sheds light on the rationality of minority governments from an opposition perspective: receiving political influence without jeopardizing one's party profile. The author studies oppositional behavior in Swedish minority governments using quantitative and qualitative methods.

Coalition woes undermine Romania reform prospects

Significance The motion will be backed by his former coalition partner, the Union to Save Romania (USR), together with the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the nationalist AUR. Citu recently won the National Liberal Party (PNL) leadership contest. If the no-confidence vote succeeds, as seems likely, President Klaus Iohannis can make two attempts to form a new government. Impacts Romania has Europe’s second-lowest COVID-19 vaccination rate; administrative upheaval may worsen performance further. The main political institutions are fast losing credibility, and this is likely to benefit increasingly influential extreme nationalists. A PNL minority government would prioritise survival over serious reform during its remaining time in power.

Canada election result prompts internal party reviews

Significance The governing Liberal Party presented the election as the most important in decades as it sought a mandate to lead the country’s emergence from the pandemic. Instead, the election delivered little change, leaving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau heading a minority government, most likely with support from the left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP) as before. Impacts An expected cabinet shuffle will see new ministers at key departments including Justice and Foreign Affairs. Provinces will drop their resistance to the proposed childcare programme, which will be in effect before the end of 2022. No new pipelines will be proposed or built while Trudeau remains in office, given perceived government hostility to fossil fuels. The transfer to the provinces of significant responsibility for healthcare will go ahead as decentralisation accelerates.

Pandemic to hinder PAC re-election hopes in Costa Rica

Significance The economy will be a key electoral topic, as the country struggles to recover from a pandemic-induced slowdown with an already weak fiscal position. With opposition parties focused on building their profiles, the minority government will struggle to advance significant legislation in the final months of its term. Impacts A rise in COVID-19 cases closer to the elections could raise questions regarding whether the polls should go ahead. The introduction of other IMF-backed proposals could be delayed by doubts about their electoral impact ahead of legislative polls. Delayed IMF funding could lead to increases in government borrowing.