Governmental participation and alliances of liberal parties in Europe

Abstract

When do Liberal parties get into government, and under which circumstances? With which partners do they generally form government? When getting into office, which ministerial portfolios do they usually obtain? In most European democracies, Liberal parties are represented in parliament and have been in office at some point in time. They also seem to have an above-average ability to secure a place in government and to obtain ministerial portfolios. This chapter takes a comparative approach and examines the patterns of government participation among Liberal parties, and their success in getting both the Prime Ministership and other important ministerial portfolios. ; Representative democracy in Europe