National unity government

A national unity government, government of national unity, or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other national emergency.

Canada

During World War I the Conservative government of Sir Robert Borden invited the Liberal opposition to join the government as a means of dealing with the Conscription crisis of 1917. The Liberals, led by Sir Wilfrid Laurier refused; however, Borden was able to convince many individual Liberals to join what was called a Union Government, which defeated the Laurier Liberals in the fall 1917 election.

During World War II, the opposition Conservative Party ran under the name National Government in the 1940 election as a means of promoting their platform of creating a wartime national government coalition (evocative of the previous war's Union government). The party did dismally in the election which re-elected the Liberal government of William Lyon Mackenzie King whose party continued to rule alone for the duration of World War II.

Newfoundland

The (then independent) Dominion of Newfoundland had a National Government during World War I led by Edward Patrick Morris.

Greece

A national unity government in Greece is often called ecumenical government:

• 1926 under Alexandros Zaimis
• 1989 under Xenophon Zolotas
• 2011 under Lucas Papademos

Israel

Israel has had several National Unity Governments, in which major rival parties formed a ruling coalition. Such a coalition was notably formed in the days leading up to the Six Day War.

Kenya

As of 2008^[update], Kenya is governed by Government of National Unity between the rival Party of National Unity of Mwai Kibaki and the Orange Democratic Movement of Raila Odinga following the 2007 presidential election and subsequent violence. This was due to the ODM winning the majority of seats in the National Assembly, but controversially losing the presidential election by a margin that has since been called into question for its validity.

Lebanon

Since Lebanon is a multireligious state and consensus democracy, having a national unity government is more favorable in this country. Unlike other democracies, no group in Lebanon can govern alone.

Luxembourg

Luxembourg has had two National Union Governments. The first was formed in 1916, during the First World War (in which Luxembourg was neutral, but occupied by Germany nonetheless). It was led by Victor Thorn and included all of the major factions in the Chamber of Deputies, but lasted for only sixteen months.

The second National Union Government was formed in November 1945, in the aftermath of the Second World War, which had devastated Luxembourg. It was led by Pierre Dupong, who had been Prime Minister in the government in exile in the war, and included all four parties represented in the Chamber of Deputies. The government lasted until 1947, by which time, a normal coalition between two of the three largest parties had been arranged, thus maintaining the confidence of the legislature.

In addition, Luxembourg had a Liberation Government between November 1944 and November 1945, also under Dupong. It served a similar emergency role to a national government, but included only the two largest parties, the CSV and the LSAP.

United Kingdom

Further information: National Government 1931-1935, National Government 1935-1940

In the United Kingdom, the electoral system is often said to discourage coalitions, but nonetheless national governments were formed during World War I and World War II. The coalition under David Lloyd George lasted until 1922 . During the Great Depression a coalition termed a National Government was formed in 1931 between Labour Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald and the Conservatives and Liberals. Most members of the Labour Party rejected the government, however, and moved to the opposition benches leaving MacDonald and his supporters to stand as National Labour. This coalition had some support from National Liberals, also, with the disarray of the Liberal Party of the time; it took in broader support in the war years, and nominally persisted until the general election of 1945.

United States

In hopes of bridging partisan politics during the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln ran his second term as a National Union government with Democrat Andrew Johnson as his vice-president. The new National Union Party allowed members to retain affiliations with other political parties.

Since the Civil War, there has never been a "national unity" government in the United States in the traditional sense. There have been several instances, however, during national disasters or wars, that the two parties have briefly "rallied around the President." Such instances include the attack on Pearl Harbor, the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and the September 11th terrorist attacks, all of which preceded a massive spike in the approval rating of the sitting President.

Zimbabwe

Main article: 2008 Zimbabwean political negotiations

The 2008–2009 Zimbabwean political negotiations between the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (led by Morgan Tsvangirai), its small splinter group, the Movement for Democratic Change - Mutambara (led by Arthur Mutambara), and the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (led by Robert Mugabe) created a framework for a power-sharing executive government between the two parties. These negotiations followed the 2008 presidential election, in which Mugabe was controversially re-elected, as well as the 2008 parliamentary election, in which the MDC won a majority in the House of Assembly. The new national unity government, including Tsvangirai, was sworn in on 11 February 2009.

National parties

Some countries such as New Zealand have or have had a National Party, which can lead to the use of the phrase "National government" when it is in power. Such governments are not national governments in the sense of this article.

See also

• Grand coalition
• Polish National Government
• Government of National Unity (Hungary)