“Coalition governments are probably the best way to govern”

Green Party member Chris Aikman, writing for the party’s admittedly hit-and-miss blog network, scored a potential hit last night by quoting a post by Guy Dauncey of EcoNews.

“Coalition governments are probably the best way to govern, not the worst,” Dauncey writes. “In the European Union, 20 of the 27 member nations have coalition governments. Holland has had one every year since 1945. Africa has 11 coalition governments. Asia has 16. It is normal for a party to try to seek an absolute majority, and then form a coalition. It is not normal for a country to be ruled by a minority government.

“Maybe,” Dauncey adds, “that’s why Stephen Harper is so touchy about it – because he recognizes that minority governments are democratically illegitimate, and he does not want us to think about it.”

Granted, it’s an awfully big maybe, and a shortsighted one at that. It’s only been seven years, after all, since Harper expressed support for a potential coalition involving his own party, as well as the Bloc and the NDP. It’s far more accurate to say that the reason he’s condemning the idea of a coalition in 2011 is because this particular coalition threatens his government.

Still, it’s an interesting and valuable take on the concept for anyone who’s bought into the notion that coalition governments are unconstitutional and doomed to fail – as opposed to potentially being more efficient and productive than, say, a minority government.

Posted in Uncategorized