What is the Difference Between Minority and Coalition Government?
Minority governments result from “first past the post” and are nearly always unstable and short lived. Under “first past the post” a small increase in popular support results in a large increase in seats. Hence, there is an incentive for parties to manufacture a quick election. Under proportional voting there is no incentive for parties to call an early election. Under such systems parties form coalitions government made up of more than one party, much as British Columbia experienced during WW II. It is a common mistake to use the terms Minority and Coalition government interchangeably. In fact, they are very different. Parties form coalitions to avoid being a minority government. Minority government is always unstable. Coalition government can be very stable. Most democracies in the world are ruled by coalitions.
