Majoritarian and Consensus Democracy: the Swedish Experience

According to the classical parliamentary doctrine of majoritarian rule, governments should be large, united and accountable to the voters. Since the introduction of proportional representation in the beginning of this century, these requirements have seldom been fulfilled in Continental politics. In this article the Swedish experience of minority parliamentarism is analyzed. The conclusion is drawn that the consensus model of democracy that has been practiced in this country comes closer to the ideal of the Conservatives who a hundred years ago opposed the parliamentary system.