In order to know the meaning of the term coalition, it is necessary, first of all, to discover its etymological origin. In this case, it must be established that it is a word that derives from medieval Latin: “coalite”. It was formed from the sum of two clearly delimited components:
-The word “coalitum”, which is the supine of the verb “coalescere”.
-The suffix “-tio”, which is used to indicate “action and effect”.
The concept is used to name a temporary grouping of individuals, political parties or nations, who come together with a specific objective.
For example: “The European coalition prepares to intervene in the terrorists’ stronghold”, “The president proposed to the opposition leaders to carry out a coalition government to face the crisis”, “We are not going to allow a military coalition to impose its mandates by force ”.
A coalition is an alliance that is created from the bond established by its members. This agreement arises with the intention of developing some type of joint action.
It is common for different political parties to establish an electoral coalition in the imminence of an election process. By creating a group of this kind, the different parties that make up the coalition have more options to prevail by going to the elections as a unit, and the group adds the votes that all would obtain separately. An electoral coalition of three political parties, for example, may present a list of candidates for deputies that includes leaders from each group: a candidate from party A appears at the top of the list, a candidate from party B appears second., in third place a candidate from party C and so on.
It must also be established that, for example, in Spain there is a political entity that responds to the name of Coalición Canaria (CC). It is a Canarian political formation that was launched in the 90’s, specifically in 1993. From this moment it governs what is the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands and forms part, both in the Congress of Deputies and in the Senate, of what is called a mixed group.
In the same way, we cannot ignore the existence of what is known as a grand coalition. This is a term that is used to refer to a class according to which two or more political parties that belong to different ideologies arrive with the clear purpose of being able to move forward and form a government. This will respond to the name of a grand coalition government.
A good example of this can be found in Germany because, throughout its history, it has had governments of this type. Thus, for example, in recent years President Angela Merkel has led three of that class.
Many times different countries join in military coalitions to invade or attack another nation which they consider dangerous or enemy. That happened with the United States, England and other countries that formed a coalition to carry out an invasion of Iraq in 2003 and thus overthrow the regime of Saddam Hussein.
