A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when the governing political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament. It is also known as a hung parliament. In bicameral parliaments, the term relates to the situation in the chamber whose confidence is considered most crucial. The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A dominant minority, also known as alien elites if they are recent immigrants, is a group that has overwhelming political, economic or cultural dominance in a country or region despite representing a small fraction of the overall population (a demographic minority). ... A segregated beach in South Africa, 1982. ... A cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of government, typically representing the executive branch. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... “Political Parties” redirects here. ... A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a cabinet in parliamentary government in which several parties cooperate. ... A majority is a subset of a group that is more than half of the entire group. ... A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modelled after that of the United Kingdom. ... In Parliamentary systems, a hung parliament is one in which no one political party has an outright majority. ... In government, bicameralism is the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. ...

In general, a minority government tends to be less stable than a majority government, because the opposition can always bring down the government with a simple vote of no confidence. Also, it is often argued that a minority government is less accountable because the leader can dodge responsibility and shift blame to the opposition. However, a minority government tends to be less arrogant because it often requires compromise between the different parties to ensure the passage of legislation. A Motion of No Confidence, also called Motion of Non Confidence is a parliamentary motion traditionally put before a parliament by the opposition in the hope of defeating or embarrassing a government. ...

Coalitions and alliances

To deal with situations where no clear majorities appear, parties either form coalition governments, alliances or agreements with other parties to stay in office. A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a cabinet in parliamentary government in which several parties cooperate. ...

A common situation is governance with "jumping majorities", i.e. that the cabinet stays as long as it can negotiate support from the parliament — majorities which well may be differently formed from issue to issue, from bill to bill.

An alternative arrangement is a looser alliance of parties, exemplified with Sweden. There the long governing Social-Democrats have governed with more or, mostly, less formal support from other parties; in the mid-20th century from Agrarians, after 1968 from Communists, and more recently from Greens and ex-Communists, and have thus been able to retain executive power and (in practice) legislative initiative. This is also common in Canada, where nine elections from 1921 to 2005 effectively produced minority federal governments: the parties can rarely cooperate enough to form a coalition, but will have loose agreements instead. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Parliament of Canada (French: Parlement du Canada) has two chambers. ... Year 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The House of Commons after the 2006 election, resulting in a Conservative minority government (in blue) During the history of Canadian politics there have been eleven previous minority governments on the federal level, and a number provincially. ...

Occasionally a confidence and supply agreement may be formed. This is more formal pact which still falls short of creating a coalition government. In the Canadian province of Ontario, the Liberal Party formed a minority government from 1985 to 1987 on the basis of a formal accord with the New Democratic Party (NDP): the NDP agreed to support the Liberals for two years on all confidence motions and budgetary legislation, in exchange for the passage of certain legislative measures proposed by the NDP. This was not a coalition government, as the NDP remained an opposition party and was not given seats in the cabinet. In this case the Liberals did not even have a plurality of seats: they had 48 and the NDP had 25, but the Progressive Conservatives were the largest party with 52. In a parliamentary democracy confidence and supply are required for a government to hold power. ... A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a cabinet in parliamentary government in which several parties cooperate. ... Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Latin: Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Official languages English (de facto) Government - Lieutenant-Governor David C. Onley - Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 106 - Senate seats 24 Confederation July 1, 1867 (1st) Area... The Ontario Liberal Party is a center-right provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. ... The Ontario New Democratic Party (formerly known as the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, Ontario Section) is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. ... A motion of no confidence, also called a motion of non-confidence, a censure motion, a no-confidence motion, or simply a confidence motion, is a parliamentary motion traditionally put before a parliament by the opposition in the hope of defeating or embarrassing a government. ... A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a cabinet in parliamentary government in which several parties cooperate. ... A cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of government, typically representing the executive branch. ... The Ontario Progressive Conservative Party (PC Party of Ontario, also known as Tories) is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. ...

In Canada, in minority situations, the incumbent government has the first opportunity to attempt to win the confidence of the House even if it has fewer seats. Usually in this situation the incumbent government simply resigns if the main opposition party is only a few seats short of having a majority or if it feels it has no chance of winning the support of enough members of smaller parties to win an initial confidence vote. Thus in 1957, 1963, and 1979 the incumbent governments resigned rather than attempt to stay in power.

New Zealand's 48th Parliament operates with both a coalition and a looser agreement: the government is a coalition between the Labour Party and the Progressives, while United Future and New Zealand First have an agreement to support the government on confidence matters, while the Green Party abstains. The 48th New Zealand Parliament is the current term of the Parliament of New Zealand. ... The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. ... The Progressive Party is a political party in New Zealand. ... United Future New Zealand is a political party in the New Zealand parliament with two MPs -- one electorate MP (leader Peter Dunne) and one list MP (Judy Turner (see MMP for the difference). ... New Zealand First functions as a political party in New Zealand. ... Current Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand logo The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is a political party in the New Zealand parliament. ...

Simple plurality system

In most Westminster system nations, each constituency elects one member of parliament by simple plurality voting. This system heavily biases the vote towards increasing the number of seats of the top two parties and reducing the seats of smaller parties, a principle known in political science as Duverger's law, and thus minority governments are relatively uncommon. (Advocates of this system see this as an advantage of it.) A party with less than 40% of the popular vote can often win an outright majority of the seats. (For instance, in the 2005 UK General Election, the governing Labour party won a majority of 66 in House of Commons with only 35.3% of the popular vote.) If support for some parties is regionally concentrated, however, then Duverger's law applies separately to each region, and so it is quite possible for no party to be sufficiently dominant in each region so as to receive a majority of the seats. In a minority situation the head of the largest party is usually asked to form a government. They must then either form a coalition with one or more existing parties, or they must win enough support from the other parties or independents to avoid no-confidence motions. Because of no-confidence motions, minority governments are frequently short-lived or fall before their term is expired. The leader of a minority government will also often call an election in hopes of winning a stronger mandate from the electorate. In Canada, for instance, federal minority governments last an average of 18 months. The Houses of Parliament, also known as the Palace of Westminster, in London. ...

International situation

Canada

Further information: Minority governments in Canada

The House of Commons after the 2006 election, resulting in a Conservative minority government (in blue) During the history of Canadian politics there have been eleven previous minority governments on the federal level, and a number provincially. ...

The Netherlands

Coalitions in the Netherlands are formed with the support from parliamentary parties, elected in a system of proportional representation. Although very rare, minority governments can be formed during the formation period of a Dutch cabinet, since an election might not result in a coalition that can be agreed upon by the parliamentary parties. More often, a minority government is formed when one of the parliamentary factions of a coalition partner of the cabinet retracts its support for the coalition, or when all ministers of that parliamentary party resign. Then the Prime Minister will offer the resignation of the full cabinet to the Dutch Monarch. There are several terms used in Dutch politics which are not easily translated into English. ... The cabinet of the Netherlands or council of ministers plans and implements government policy. ... The prime minister of the Netherlands is the head of the cabinet, and, as such, coordinates the policy of the government. ... The Netherlands has been an independent monarchy since 16 March 1815, and has been governed by members of the House of Orange-Nassau since. ...

A couple things might happen then. The Monarch might simply call for the dissolution of parliament, calling for new elections and making the cabinet demissionair. This is not a minority government, but only a form of caretaker government, since the powers of the cabinet are reduced due to the fact that the Monarch has dissolved Parliament and new elections will be held. There are several terms used in Dutch politics which are not easily translated into English. ...

When the Monarch does not decide to call for the dissolution of parliament, the cabinet can continue as a rompkabinet, where the cabinet has still all powers (since a dissolution of parliament has not yet been called by the Monarch) and can finish all introduced legislation, such as a government budget for the next year, but will need to seek a majority in the parliament to pass this legislation. Elections are then called later (theoretically, not until the next planned election, but presumably earlier because the basis for the regeerakkoord is gone). There are several terms used in Dutch politics which are not easily translated into English. ... There are several terms used in Dutch politics which are not easily translated into English. ...

It is also possible that the Monarch will call a new formation round, whereby a new cabinet is formed with the support of another majority of parliament (theoretically including the coalition partner that caused the resignation of the cabinet). Elections are then held as scheduled at the end of the parliamentary term, since the Monarch will not dissolve parliament when an informateur was able to negotiate a new regeerakkoord. There are several terms used in Dutch politics which are not easily translated into English. ... There are several terms used in Dutch politics which are not easily translated into English. ... There are several terms used in Dutch politics which are not easily translated into English. ...

Scotland

After the 2007 parliamentary elections, the Scottish National Party led by Alex Salmond constituted a minority government in the Scottish Parliament. This was because the SNP gained 47 seats in the election, which was some way short of achieving an absolute majority of seats in the Scottish Parliament. The SNP were also unable to negotiate a coalition government with the other parties, namely the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party, in the Scottish Parliament. Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... The Scottish National Party (SNP) (Scottish Gaelic: is a centre-left political party which campaigns for Scottish independence. ... Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond, known as Alex Salmond (born 31 December 1954 ) (age 52)), has been nominated by the Scottish Parliament as First Minister of Scotland. ... For the national legislative body up to 1707, see Parliament of Scotland. ... Absolute majority is a supermajoritarian voting requirement which is stricter than a simple majority. ... For the national legislative body up to 1707, see Parliament of Scotland. ... A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a cabinet in parliamentary government in which several parties cooperate. ... “Political Parties” redirects here. ...

Wales

After the 2007 Assembly elections, the Welsh Labour Party led by Rhodri Morgan initially formed a minority government in the Welsh Assembly. This was because they gained 26 seats in the election, which was short of an absolute majority of seats in the Assembly. Whilst Labour were initially unable to form a coalition with the Liberal Democrats, a 'Rainbow Coalition' of the Conservative Party (UK), Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru failed to come to fruition. However on the 6th July 2007, Welsh Labour Party members voted for a coalition with Plaid, which was followed by a similar result from Plaid Cymru members the next day. As a result, the Welsh Assembly is now controlled by the Labour-Plaid alliance with Rhodri Morgan as First Minister and Plaid Leader Ieuan Wyn Jones as his deputy. Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... The Wales Labour Party, also known as Welsh Labour, is the part of the Labour Party which operates in Wales. ... Rhodri Morgan, pictured while on an eve of poll visit during the National Assembly of Wales election in 2003. ... The National Assembly for Wales (or NAW) (Welsh: Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru) was established in 1998, following a 1997 referendum in which a small majority of voters (but not the electorate) voted in favour of the Labour Governments plans for devolution. ... Absolute majority is a supermajoritarian voting requirement which is stricter than a simple majority. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), the largest in terms of public membership, and the oldest political party in the United Kingdom. ... Ieuan Wyn Jones (born 22 May 1949) is leader of Plaid Cymru, Deputy First Minister in the Welsh Assembly Government and Member of the National Assembly for Wales for the Ynys Môn constituency. ...

See also

• Majority government