What citizens think about minority governments in majority coalition settings

Abstract Political scientists have extensively studied the formation, management, or performance of minority governments. However, we still do not know much about citizens’ perspectives on this type of government. What do citizens think about minority governments, and under what conditions do they prefer them over majority governments? We hypothesize that cues from public opinion and instrumental calculations drive citizen attitudes toward minority governments. These hypotheses are tested through a two-round survey experiment employing a factorial design (N = 2,850) in Germany, a country traditionally characterized by a majority coalition setting yet increasingly experiencing debates on minority government formation amidst growing party fragmentation. We find that most German citizens prefer the formation of majority over minority governments. However, citizens favor the type of government they believe will yield desirable outcomes or benefit democracy. Consistent with our hypotheses, support for minority governments increases when citizens expect more policy influence and public opinion favors minority governments. The findings of this study have important implications for our understanding of different types of government and their perceived political legitimacy, especially in increasingly fragmented party systems.