Grand coalition

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.

Other examples of grand coalitions

• The Province of Canada formed the Great Coalition of 1864–1867 which led directly to the Confederation of Canada.
• 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
• Austria — Coalition between People's Party and Social Democratic Party — 1945–1966 and 1986–2000