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Equal Performance of Minority and Majority Coalitions? Pledge Fulfilment in the German State of NRW
[journal article]
Abstract This study examines how a government’s majority status affects coalition governance and performance. Two steps are investigated: the inclusion of government parties’ electoral pledges into the coalition agreement, and the ability to translate pledges into legislative outputs. The main results of a c... view more
This study examines how a government’s majority status affects coalition governance and performance. Two steps are investigated: the inclusion of government parties’ electoral pledges into the coalition agreement, and the ability to translate pledges into legislative outputs. The main results of a comparative analysis of 183 pledges of a minority (without a formal support partner) and majority coalition in the German State North Rhine-Westphalia indicate that government parties with minority status include fewer pledges in the coalition agreement. But this does not mean that they also perform badly at pledge fulfilment. In fact, they show an equivalent performance in fulfilling election pledges, at least partially, when compared to majority government parties. However, there is tentative evidence that the prime minister’s party shows a lower quality of pledge fulfilment, as measured by a higher share of partially enacted pledges.... view less
Keywords
party in power; election campaign; political program; coalition; North Rhine-Westphalia; Federal Republic of Germany
Classification
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Free Keywords
minority governments; majority coalitions
Document language
English
Publication Year
2019
Page/Pages
p. 123-144
Journal
German Politics, 28 (2019) 1
ISSN
1743-8993
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed