A grand coalition is a coalition government in a parliamentary system where political parties representing a vast majority of the parliament unite in a coalition. The term is most commonly used in countries where there are two dominant parties with different ideological orientations, and a number of smaller parties which are large enough to secure representation in the parliament. Typically in such a country, the two large parties will each try to secure enough seats in any election to have a majority government alone, and if this fails each will attempt to form a coalition with smaller parties that have a similar ideological orientation. Because the two large parties will tend to differ on major ideological issues, they will usually find it more difficult to agree on a common direction for a combined government than with smaller parties. A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a cabinet in parliamentary government in which several parties cooperate. ... A parliamentary system, also known as parliamentarianism (and parliamentarism in U.S. English), is distinguished by the executive branch of government being dependent on the direct or indirect support of the parliament, often expressed through a vote of confidence. ... A political party is an organization that seeks to attain political power within a government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns. ... An election is a decision making process where people choose people to hold official offices. ... In the Westminster System, a majority government is one in which the government enjoys an absolute majority of seats in the legislature or Parliament. ...

However, there are circumstances where normally opposing parties may find it desirable to form a government. One is a national crisis such as a war or depression, where people feel a need for national unity and stability that overcomes ordinary ideological differences. This is especially true where there is broad agreement about the best policy to deal with the crisis. In this case, a grand coalition may occur even when one party has enough seats to govern alone. An example would be the United Kingdom national governments during World War I and before and during World War II. The United States detonated an atomic bomb over Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. ... WORLD OF WARCRAFT IS THE BEST GAME EVER INVENTED AND PLAY IT. IF YOU DONT PLAY WORLD OF WARCRAFT, YOU ARE A nOOb. ... National governments or national unity governments are broad coalition governments consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature and are often formed during times of war or national emergency. ... Combatants Allied Powers: France Italy Russia Serbia United Kingdom United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Commanders Ferdinand Foch Georges Clemenceau Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Paul von Hindenburg Reinhard... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead...

Another possibility is that the major parties may find they have more in common ideologically with each other than with the smaller parties, or that the fragmentation of the smaller parties is so great that no other coalition is stable. Examples include Austria, where the mainstream parties of the left and right have often formed grand coalitions to keep parties of the far left or far right out of government (an example of a cordon sanitaire), or Israel, where in some parliaments the fragmentation and intransigence of some of the smaller parties has made it easier to maintain a coherent platform with a grand coalition than with a narrow one. Cordon sanitaire derives from the French for quarantine line, and is usually a barrier that is implemented to stop a disease or something undesirable from spreading and gaining momentum. ...

In some countries, the presence of persistent grand coalitions often frustrates voters and minor parties, who feel that it offers them no real choice in government. This makes protest votes more common in these countries. A Protest vote is a vote cast in an election to demonstrate the casters unhappiness with the choice of candidates or the current political system. ...

German grand coalition

National level

In the post-war politics of Germany, two grand coalitions (Große Koalition) have been formed at the national level. Germany has historically tended to favor narrow coalitions between parties with closer natural alignments, such as SPD-FDP, SPD-Green or CDU/CSU-FDP coalitions. A grand coalition would be likely only if one of these natural alignments broke down, or if far left or far right parties were to secure significant representation in the Bundestag. Politics of Germany takes place in a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Federal Chancellor is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. ... SPD redirects here. ... Categories: Politics stubs | Liberal related stubs | German political parties | Liberal parties ... Bündnis 90/Die Grünen (literally: Alliance 90/The Greens), the German Green Party, is a political party in Germany whose regional predecessors were founded in the late 1970s as part of the new social movements. ... The Christian Democratic Union (CDU - Christlich-Demokratische Union) is a political party in Germany. ... The Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU – ) is a conservative political party in Germany. ... The Bundestag (Federal Diet) is the parliament of Germany. ...

In 1966 the government was formed by the Social Democratic Party of Germany and the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, the two major political parties in the Federal Republic of Germany. The grand coalition in Germany was formed on 1 December 1966 as a result of arguments about tax rises between the CDU/CSU-FDP coalition of the time. The FDP ministers stood down and a new government was formed with the SPD under Kurt Georg Kiesinger of the CDU. This lasted until 1969. This grand coalition's time in power was marked by the student unrest in Germany as a result of its passing of the German Emergency Acts in 1968. 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... SPD redirects here. ... The Christian Democratic Union (CDU - Christlich-Demokratische Union) is a political party in Germany. ... December 1 is the 335th (in leap years the 336th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with SPD (disambiguation). ... Kurt Georg Kiesinger (April 6, 1904–March 9, 1988) was a conservative German politician and Chancellor of Germany from 1 December 1966 until 21 October , 1969. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... The German student movement was a protest movement that took place during the late 1960s in Germany. ... The German Emergency Acts were passed on 30 May 1968 at the time of the Grand Coalition between the Social Democratic Party of Germany and the Christian Democratic Union of Germany. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ...

After the inconclusive result of the 2005 German federal election, in which neither of the major parties could form a majority government, the leaders of the SPD and the CDU/CSU agreed to form a grand coalition with CDU leader Angela Merkel as chancellor and an equal number of cabinet seats for each party. On November 11, 2005, the text of the agreement was presented to the public. The chancellor was elected on November 22, and the grand coalition government took office. 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... German federal elections took place on September 18, 2005 to elect the members of the 16th German Bundestag, the federal parliament of Germany. ... (pronounced //) (born in Hamburg, Germany on July 17, 1954) is the current Chancellor of Germany. ...

State level

Grand coalitions are more common at the state level in Germany. As of November 2006, Brandenburg, Bremen, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Schleswig-Holstein are governed by coalitions between the CDU and the SPD. Germany is a Federal Republic made up of 16 States, known in German as Länder (singular Land). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...   (Lower Sorbian: Bramborska; Upper Sorbian: Braniborska) is one of Germanys sixteen Bundesländer (federal states). ... The Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (official name; German: Freie Hansestadt Bremen) is the smallest of Germanys 16 Federal States (Bundesländer). ... Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (German: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) is a state in northern Germany. ... The Free State of Saxony (German: Freistaat Sachsen; Sorbian: Swobodny Stata Sakska) is at a land area of 18,413 km² and a population of 4. ... With an area of 20,447 km² and a population of 2. ... Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the 16 Bundesländer in Germany. ...

Other examples of grand coalitions

• The Province of Canada formed the Great Coalition of 1864–1867 which led directly to the Confederation of Canada.
• Canada, the Unionist Party of Canada a war time coalition of Liberals and Conservative from 1917-1920
• United Kingdom — Liberals and Conservatives — 1916–1922
• United Kingdom — Conservatives, most Liberals and some Labour — 1931–1945
• Israel — Likud and Labour — 1984–1990, 2001–2003 and others
• Switzerland — Coalition between four largest parties since 1959 (also called magic formula)
• Austria — Coalition between People's Party and Social Democratic Party — 1945–1966, 1986–2000 and since 2006
• Bulgaria — Coalition between the Bulgarian Socialist Party, the National Movement for Simeon II and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms — 2005–present
• Portugal — Coalition between Socialist Party and Social Democratic Party — 1985–1987 (Central Block, Bloco Central)

Note: for information about Canadas present-day provinces, see Provinces and territories of Canada. ... The Great Coalition refers to the grand coalition of political parties that formed in the Province of Canada in 1864. ... 1864 (MDCCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... 1867 (MDCCCLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Canadian Confederation, or the Confederation of Canada, was the process that ultimately brought together a union among the provinces, colonies and territories of British North America to form a Dominion of the British Empire, which today is a federal nation state simply known as Canada. ... The Unionist Party was formed in 1917 by MPs in Canada who supported the Union government formed by Sir Robert Borden during World War I. In May 1917, Conservative Prime Minister Borden proposed the formation of a national unity government or coalition government to Liberal leader Sir Wilfrid Laurier in... This article is about the historic Liberal Party. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative & Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), and the largest in terms of public membership. ... 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative & Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), and the largest in terms of public membership. ... This article is about the historic Liberal Party. ... The Labour Party has been, since its founding in the early 20th century, the main democratic socialist[1] political party in the United Kingdom. ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ... 1945 (MCMVL) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... Likud (Hebrew: ליכוד, literally means consolidation) is a centre-right political party in Israel. ... Labour (העבודה HaAvoda) is an Israeli political party. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Austrian Peoples Party (de:Österreichische Volkspartei, or ÖVP) is an Austrian political party. ... The Social Democratic Party of Austria (de:Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs, or SPÖ) is one of the oldest political parties in Austria. ... 1945 (MCMVL) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Bulgarian Socialist Party (Bulgarian: Bălgarska Socialističeska Partija or Българска социалистическа партия) (BSP or БСП) is a political party in Bulgaria and successor to the Bulgarian Communist Party. ... Categories: Politics stubs | Liberal related stubs | Bulgarian political parties | Liberal parties ... The Movement for Rights and Freedoms (Движение за права и свободи, Dviženie za Prava i Svobodi) is a centrist ethnic political party in Bulgaria, based in the Turkish minority. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Socialist Party (Portuguese: Partido Socialista, pron. ... The Social Democratic Party (Portuguese: Partido Social Democrata, pron. ... 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Central Block (Portuguese: ) is the name given in Portugal to the grand coalition the Socialist Party and the Social Democratic Party which ruled from 1983 to 1985, and to any potential coalition between those two parties. ...

See also

• Politics of Germany
• Cabinet of Germany
• National government