The net effect of coalitions is usually to dull debates, to narrow ambitions and to blunt the cutting edge of bold politics. In the Netherlands Drees cabinet fell after extending higher taxes.

In most Western European nations these days, no party commands an absolute majority, and most must rule by coalition. The net effect of coalitions is usually to dull debates, to narrow ambitions and to blunt the cutting edge of bold politics. Rivalries that would otherwise be threshed out in theā€¦