Politics

Why Proportional Representation Does Not Deliver Stable Government

Wêrom Evenredich Kiesstelsel Gjin Stabile Regearing Opleveret

July 1, 2026 · Frisian News

Proportional representation fragments government and hands veto power to small parties. The result is not democracy but gridlock.

English

Belgium took an exceptionally long time to form a government in one recent election cycle. The Netherlands needed many months after the 2023 election and still got a fragile coalition that fell apart in months. This is not a bug in proportional representation. This is the system working exactly as designed. And the design fails.

In PR systems, no single party commands a majority. That sounds democratic. In reality, it gives power to the smallest coalition member. A smaller party in Belgium blocked policy for months. The Netherlands' NSC first demanded control of one of the most powerful ministries. When a single-digit percentage of voters can hold government hostage, the system does not give power to the many. It gives power to those willing to weaponize the veto.

PR advocates claim it forces compromise. What it actually forces is paralysis. Germany's grand coalitions and Italy's revolving cabinets prove the point. A government that must satisfy five parties satisfies none of them well. Each ministry becomes a prize handed out in backroom deals, not by the party that won the election. Politicians, not voters, decide who rules. Proportional representation launders this theft of democratic choice through a fog of fairness language.

The winners of PR chaos are clear. Small parties that would disappear in a majoritarian system gain permanent veto power. Coalition talks enrich consultants and fixers. Lobbyists find it easier to influence a divided government. The losers are the voters who cast ballots for a mandate and watch politicians trade it away in closed rooms. PR makes parliament look more like the country. It makes government less answerable to voters.

Voters did not ask for this. They voted for programs and leaders, not for eternal kingmakers and three-year coalition talks. Proportional representation promised fairness. It delivered fragmentation.

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Read this story in Frysk

Frysk

Belgje hie útsûnderlik lang nedich om in regearing te foarmjen yn ien resinte ferkiezingsrûnte. Nederlân wachte nei de ferkiezingen fan 2023 in protte moannen en krige dochs in ûnfêste koalysje dy't al gau útinoarfoel. Dit is gjin bug yn it evenredige kiesstelsel. Dit is it systeem dat krekt wurket lykas it ûntworpen is. En it ûntwerp mislearret.

Yn proporsjionele systemen kriget gjin inkele partij in mearderheid. Dat klinket demokratysk. Yn werklikheid jout it macht oan de lytste koalysje-partner. In lytse partij yn Belgje blokkeare moannen lang belied. De NSC yn Nederlân easke earst kontrôle oer ien fan de machtichste ministearjes. As ien inkeld prosint fan de kiezers de regearing gizelet, jout it systeem macht net oan in protte. It jout macht oan wa't ree is it veto as wapen yn te setten.

Foarstanners fan PR beweare dat it ta kompromis twingt. Wat it echt twingt is ferlamming. Dútske grutte koalysjes en Italje syn draaidoar-kabinetten bewize it. In regearing dy't fiif partijen tefreden stelle moat, stelt gjin ien goed tefreden. Elk ministearje wurdt in priis dy't yn efterkeamers ferdield wurdt, net troch de partij dy't wûn. Politisy, net kiezers, bepale wa't regearret. Proporsjioneel kiesstelsel wasket dizze rôf fan demokratyske kar skjin troch in nevel fan earlikheidstaal.

De winners fan PR-kaos binne dúdlik. Lytse partijen dy't yn in mearderheidssysteem ferdwine soene, krije permanint vetorjocht. Koalysje-oerlizzen ferrikje konsulanten en politike fixers. Lobbyisten kinne in ferdiele regearing makliker beynfloedzje. De ferliezers binne de kiezers dy't stimden foar in mandaat en sjogge hoe politisy dit yn sletten keamers ferjaan. PR makket it parlemint mear op it lân lykjen. It makket de regearing minder ferantwurdlik oan kiezers.

Kiezers fregen hjir net om. Hja stimden foar programma's en lieders, net foar ivige kingmakers en trije jier koalysje-oerlizzen. Proporsjioneel kiesstelsel beloave earlikheid. It smiet fragmentaasje op.

Published July 1, 2026 · Frisian News