The rise and fall of different
parties controlling governments is part of politics and necessary for a healthy
democracy. In most parliamentary systems with several parties there is a need
to form coalitions after elections in order to form a majority and control the
government. A coalition is when multiple parties come together to form a voting
block so that it has the amount of votes necessary pass legislation. Research
done by the political scientist Golder suggests that these parliamentary
systems sometimes also have pre electoral coalitions. This is the case when
parties form coalitions before elections instead of after. Pre electoral
coalitions however are not only important in parliamentary systems that have
several different parties, but also in different types of governments that have
two parties like the United States. Because of the two party system in the US
sometimes coalitions form within these parties to influence policy or select
candidates.
In the study done by Golder she
seeks to understand why, and how, pre electoral coalitions form in countries
that have multiple parties. What she does not address however is how pre
electoral coalitions also form in places like the United States. In the United
States there are only two parties that can win elections and they have many
different groups and factions within a particular party. Ultimately these
different groups come together and vote under one party title and this supplies
them with enough votes to win elections. During primary elections however it
becomes clear that within parties there are different groups from the same
party that need work together to form coalitions. These pre electoral
coalitions influence which candidates are nominated in a party and also what
policies are the most important to address.
Currently the Republican Party is
in the spotlight as the nation decides which of the many current Republican politicians
will be that party’s next presidential candidate. It is then necessary for
politicians like Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush to form their own pre
electoral coalitions within the Republican Party. For example, there are different types of
Republicans such as libertarians, Christian conservatives, and Tea Partiers.
Because there are different types of Republicans within the party those
competing for the party’s presidential nomination also need to successfully
form a coalition within their party between the different groups. By doing so
they can win the support required in order to become the party’s nominee.
Ted Cruz recently declared that he
is officially running for president. By observing his topics during speeches
and the locations he chooses to visit one can see the support he is trying to garner
within his party. In his speeches he refers to many libertarian ideas like
shutting down the IRS or closing the American border. Also, when he declared
that he was running for President he did it at a Christian Conservative
college. These details show that Ted Cruz is trying to form a coalition between
libertarian republicans and Christian conservatives. He hopes that if he can
win the support of these two major groups within the Republican Party he will
have enough support to become his party’s next presidential candidate.
Whether in
a two party system like the United States or in a multi party parliamentary
system like in Germany both systems of government have pre electoral
coalitions. It is useful for parties in parliamentary systems to form pre electoral
coalitions so that they can secure a majority of votes before elections. In the
US though, it is necessary to form pre electoral coalitions for different
reasons, one instance being when a politician seeks his party’s nomination. The
study by Golder demonstrates the importance of parties working together before
elections to pre determine an outcome. Politicians in the United States form
pre electoral coalitions within their own party in order to secure their party
nomination. Coalitions within parties are forming now as the next presidential
election approaches and the candidates with the strongest pre electoral
coalitions will also likely be their party’s next presidential candidate.
Sources
Golder 2006
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