Oversized coalition

In political science, an oversized coalition is understood to be a coalition in which more parties are involved than are required for a government majority - in contrast to a minimal profit coalition in which just as many parties are involved as are required for a government majority and to a minority government .

Such coalitions occur primarily in concordance democracies such as Switzerland , where the political understanding is based on involving as many or all parties as possible in the legislative process. In competing democracies, however, oversized coalitions are rather uncommon. They are most likely to appear in technocratic transitional governments in times of need so that they are not bound by party politics, but also when simple government majorities are no longer sufficient, but larger majorities are required - for constitutional amendments, for example - or in relatively undisciplined parliamentary groups where to tight majorities carry a high risk of failure.

In the Federal Republic of Germany there have so far only been oversized coalitions at the national level under Konrad Adenauer . In the second legislative period (1953–1957) the CDU / CSU only lacked a mandate for an absolute majority of MPs, but still formed a coalition with the FDP , the DP and the GB / BHE . In the third legislative period (1957–1961) the Union parties had an absolute majority, but continued the coalition with the DP.

At the state level, oversized coalitions were not uncommon in the early days of the Federal Republic and were referred to as concentration governments . The last coalitions of this kind existed in Bavaria in 1962 , when the CSU achieved a narrow absolute majority in seats, but nevertheless entered into a coalition with the Bavarian Party , and in Hesse , where the SPD , also with an absolute majority, formed a coalition with the BHE ( now GDP ) continued.

In some Austrian federal states , the formation of oversized concentration governments is prescribed by the relevant state law.