Coalition Governments and Economic Reforms
Dr Shyam S Agrawal, a CFTC Advisor based in Nairobi looks ahead to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference
It is rightly believed and advocated that political stability is essential for realizing the goal of economic and social development of the world. However, the countries particularly in the African continent are increasingly suffering where free and fair elections and lack of transparency largely remain under question mark leading to delay in transfer of powers and one person ruling the country for decades together.
The coalition governments these days are emerging as the solution in the absence of clear mandate. These Governments are formed on the principle of sharing power between the ruling and opposition parties primarily to avoid political conflicts and social disturbances and primarily for continuation of economic and political reforms in wider national interest. These might be the changed version of the national governments which were normally formed at the time of independence till such time the democratically elected government is installed.
The trend of the coalition governments started in India during recent years where the largest elected parties put their cards together with the regional and smaller parties to rule the country which culminated in the grand coalition government in Germany between the two largest political parties. The trend is now becoming common in Africa with Kenya taking the lead.
However, the effectiveness of such governments has been put under question mark as such arrangements partially and fully eradicate checks and balances essential for effectively ruling the country. It is further argued that that these governments not only pulls the respective countries deep in to pits of poverty but also compromise democracy.
The advocate of this philosophy always clamor for strong opposition without taking cognizance of the importance of economic development, education and poverty reduction which can be possible by clear understanding between opposition and the ruling party or by working on the principle of mutually agreed Common Minimum Programme by the partners in the coalition governments till such time the democratically elected majority government is installed.
Republic of Tanzania, the host country of 55th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference to be held in Arusha during September/October, 2009 has rightly proposed a theme ‘Coalition Governments: Democracy in Dilemma’. The conference is an annual political gathering of the association composed of parliaments and legislations of 52 of the commonwealth nations and overseas territories. The Commonwealth Secretariat and the parliamentary leaders however would need to ensure that the issue is considered in a wider perspective as political and economic reforms are all inclusive if the views contained in Marshall’s book ‘Political Economy’ are taken in to account. It is true that that no agenda on economic reforms can be implemented in the absence of political will and commitment. However, it can also be asserted that economic stability is an essential requirement for political stability whether it is a coalition government or a single party government.