Coalition government

Too much controversy has been stirred up by the 12.77 percent won by the three far-right parties - the Spartiates (Spartans), Greek Solution and Niki (Victory) - in the June 25 legislative election.

The good news is that the notoriously fractious Greek eco-parties have banded together, with the encouragement of the European Greens, to contest the May 21 election.

According to a myth, in turbulent and volatile times, a country needs governments that can make decisions quickly, without much fuss. In other words, it needs a majority government (thanks, of course, to the Greek electoral law) and not some "dysfunctional" coalition government.

If you win the election, you get the state - that's the rule in Greece. The state is the winner's prize. Hence politicians' worship of absolute majority governments and their abhorrence of coalitions: The victor does not want to share the spoils with anyone else and prefers to reap the benefits arising from his power undisturbed.

Finland's main conservative party claimed victory in parliamentary elections Sunday in a tight three-way race that saw right-wing populists take second place, leaving Prime Minister Sanna Marin's Social Democratic Party in third, dashing her hopes for reelection.

The ride was always likely to be bumpy given the combative characters of OLaNO leader Igor Matovic and Richard Sulik of the conservative Freedom & Solidarity (SaS) party. But amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the fact the coalition has lasted this long is already something of a surprise to many.

Allies of French President Emmanuel Macron started working on June 20 to cobble together a working parliamentary majority to salvage his second term, after his alliance crumbled in the election against surges from the left and far-right.

There's Such People looks to be in turmoil after party founder Trifonov announced its withdrawal from Bulgaria's coalition government. PM Kiril Petkov's cabinet may yet survive, however.

Ljubljana – The new centre-left coalition expects the political situation to de-escalate now that the new parliament has started its work, and the level of the debate to be raised. Coalition deputy groups note the importance of cooperation in tackling challenges and stress they are well prepared and will work together to implement their plans.

The election results so far show that the left-wing coalition led by Jean-Luc Mlenchon has a slight advantage in the number of votes won in the first round of parliamentary elections.