Society & Culture
UK politicians, and the UK electorate, are terrified of coalitions. There probably isn't anything more likely to destroy a government's chances before they even get into office than the possibility that they might share a little power and influence with anyone else. To anyone from abroad, this can seem strangely naive and unsophisticated. If the parliament doesn't produce a majority, why should one party form a government alone? Well, they shouldn't. And in the rest of the world, that regularly just works. In fact, Ireland just made it work this past weekend, after a very strange election result.