having a government that only represents 36-37% of voters (less than what an Alliance government would represent) is a pretty unfortunate situation.
Come to canada where we have a dictatorial Conservative majority government that only 39% of the electorate voted for...Margaret Thatcher never won more than 42% of the vote in the UK and it never stopped her from ramming her policies down everyone's throats.
Yes, but there's a big difference between a PR and FPTP system. Thatcher always had a majority of MPs, and Harper had a decent plurality of MPs. The government Löfvén is proposing would have less support in parliament than the main political alternative. I have a hard time seeing Thatcher holding on if Labour had more MPs than her, and Harper holding on if the Liberals had been bigger.
Not that it will be impossible. We should remember that Sweden had a government representing only 11% of the voters, only 35 years ago, and that was before the simplified budget rules that make it easier for minority governments to hold on.
I've always wondered how 'minority governments' run. Do bills and budgets need less than 50% of the vote or do they rely on opposition support on a case-by-case basis?
