What is multi-party system? Discuss the merits and demerit of multi-party system.
Answers
Disadvantages: it's much harder to get anything done. Everything is a compromise. Deals have to be made constantly between factions, which can result in deeply unwelcome decisions later on.
Advantages: ideology is significantly reduced as a factor. Decisions making is far more balanced. There is greater scope for investigating factors that a single ruling party would consider irrelevant. The worst excesses of any given party should, in theory, be mitigated.
We most recently saw this in the ConDem government at Westminster. The Lib Dems did a surprisingly good job of curtailing Tory policy, albeit with a few disastrous errors (most notably tuition fees). Unfortunately the electorate blamed Nick Clegg for everything that went wrong during that term, and handed Cameron a majority