Putin seeks to weaken European coalition governments

Brussels, Belgium.- In addition to the political, economic and social instability generated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a good number of European countries face political instability because their rulers do not have the support of the majority of their governed and despite this they are making decisions that will have who knows how good and bad consequences in the long run.

None of the prime ministers of the 10 most populous countries came to office after their party won a majority of the citizen vote in a parliamentary election; almost all of them came to power by forming coalitions, usually fragile, that allowed them to form a government.

Let’s see each case according to the most recent elections in each country.

Germany: Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party barely got 25.7% of the vote and his government is the result of a coalition with two other parties.

Belgium: Despite the fact that his Flemish Liberals and Democrats party barely won 8.54% of the vote, Alexander De Croo is the prime minister heading a coalition government that brings together seven parties.

Czech Republic: Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s Civic Democratic Party won 27.79% of the vote and his government is the result of a four-party coalition.

Spain: The PSOE, the party of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, obtained 26% of the vote in the 2019 elections. In coalition with Unidas Podemos, it presides over a minority government.

France: Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne’s party, La República en Marcha, obtained only 25.8% of the popular vote and, unable to agree on alliances with more parties, today heads a minority coalition government of seven parties that only gather 47% of parliamentary seats.

Italy: The party of newly elected Prime Minister Georgia Meloni won 26% of the vote and will lead a coalition government.

The Netherlands: Since 2010, Mark Rutte has been Prime Minister, leading a coalition led by his People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy that won 21.9% of the vote. He governs in coalition with three other parties.

Poland: Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s Law and Justice party won 43.6% of the vote and government in a coalition with the Civic Platform party that gives it 71% of the seats.

United Kingdom: Prime Minister Liz Truss was not elected to the post and replaced Boris Johnson after he resigned.

Romania: Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă belongs to the National Liberal Party which obtained 25.58% of the vote and governs a coalition made up of his party and two others.

Democracy is fragile and it is even more so when the rulers do not have the support of the majority of their governed. In the most recent elections in these 10 countries, high percentages of citizen abstention have been registered, which indicate a growing citizen skepticism towards the democratic process.

All these countries are members of NATO and it is easy to assume that Vladimir Putin is using all the means at his disposal to fracture coalitions and generate political crises that weaken the military alliance that today supports Ukraine with war material, money and strategic advice.

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