Lithuania. Ministerial government in an unstable party system

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Centrinė ir Rytų Europa; Koalicija; Koalicijos; Parlamentarizmas; Partinė sistema; Politinės partijos; Vyriausybė; Central and Eastern Europe; Coalition; Government; Lithuania; Parliamentarism, coalitions; Party system; Political parties.

ENGovernment formation in Lithuania takes place in the context of an unstable party system. Two of the characteristics of this system are a high level of electoral volatility and a large number of political parties.1 Since the transition to democracy, the numbers of effective electoral and parliamentary parties have steadily increased and, for instance, in 2010 both indicators were highest among the Central Eastern European (CEE) countries and higher than in most of Western Europe (Armingeon et al. 2012; see also Chapter 13). The high levels of electoral volatility among voters are accompanied by politicians’ frequently switching party affiliation and often unpredictable party behaviour.The problem of achieving consensus and coordination is inherent in any coalition system, where a fundamental tension exists between the formulation of joint policies and the preservation of the distinct identities of the coalition partners. In the Lithuanian case this tension acquires specific importance, for two major reasons. First of all, with a few notable exceptions, political parties largely lack firm (policy) identities when they enter coalition governments. [...]. [Extract, p. 303]