Fragmented Politics

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the interaction between government and opposition in the Czech Parliament. It shows that weak and unstable governing coalitions grapple with the presence of two types of opposition – permanent and mainstream opposition. Drawing on the example of the recent economic crisis, this chapter explains the variation in behavior of both types of parliamentary opposition. The behavior of permanent opposition on austerity and budget is adversarial and along ideological lines, rejecting these measures. The mainstream opposition is exhibiting a more nuanced behavior, shifting between consensual and adversarial behavior. The consequence of weak governing coalitions and the confrontational opposition is the recurrence of non-partisan governments used to bridge the party divides and ensure completion of the legislative term. This chapter provides insights into the functioning of fragmented politics – divided opposition and weak government.