POLI 204 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Responsible Government

• School: Concordia University
• Department: Political Sc
• Course: POLI 204
• Professor: Maxime Héroux-Legault

Document Summary

Confidence in the house: this means that the gov. must hold the confidence of the house which that the majority of mps must support the gov. Responsible government: is the relationship between the cabinet and the hoc. It"s easiest to maintain confidence by having a majority government because you can make sure that your mps vote in your favour by rewarding loyalty and vice versa. Some argue that party discipline is essential for responsible gov. It"s more difficult when you have a minority government. Liberals in 2005 needed to negotiate with npd for its support in exchange for. Coalition governments are expected to be more stable than case by case arrangements. Liberal and ndp in 2008 would form a coalition with the support of the bloc against harper. His role is not mentioned in the constitution so it relies on conventions and personal references.