ABSTRACT

This chapter examines following questions: To what extent do the different party types have different outcomes in terms of governments? Do two-party systems and patterns always yield single-party majorities? Are dominant parties in multi-party systems and patterns also dominant around the cabinet table? The chapter provides relevant data and answers for these questions. Peter Mair argues that the key distinction of party systems involves the structure of competition for government, that is, whether this is closed or open. One of his indicators is alternation in government, where he distinguishes between non-alternation, partial alternation, and wholesale alternation. Returning to governments as a whole, in terms of government formation it is important to note the difference between negative and positive parliamentarianism. As Torbjorn Bergman notes, negative parliamentarianism tends to lead to minority governments after a hung parliament, since a minority party may be able to get support from different parties on different issues and thus separate its agenda, unlike under positive parliamentarianism.