> Other countries like the UK and AU will typically have the ruling party in control of a majority.
That's not my understanding or experience, and I'm a voter for both. The number of governments where the ruling party controlled both chambers is fairly rare. AU elects the upper chamber on a different schedule to the lower, so often a new government (in the House of Reps) will face an opposition-controlled Senate. I think this is the same as the US system.
The UK has it worse with the House of Lords, which aren't elected and thus won't ever change hands directly from a General Election result.
Also note that the voting tradition in AU is that if Labour gains control of the Federal government, then the Liberal/National Coalition generally gains control of the state legistlatures (and vice versa).
Perhaps you mean that a UK or AU lower chamber facing a hostile upper chamber is still functional and productive compared to the equivalent in the US. I think the threat of blocking supply or a vote of no confidence (or in the AU, a double dissolution) helps these governments be more willing to compromise with their opponents & pass legistlation, in the absence of a majority.
> some sort of minority government
A minority government is a rather specific term, and can be easily misunderstood when used to refer to an opposition-controlled upper house (which doesn't ever really exist in the UK). Could you please be more specific?
That's not my understanding or experience, and I'm a voter for both. The number of governments where the ruling party controlled both chambers is fairly rare. AU elects the upper chamber on a different schedule to the lower, so often a new government (in the House of Reps) will face an opposition-controlled Senate. I think this is the same as the US system.
The UK has it worse with the House of Lords, which aren't elected and thus won't ever change hands directly from a General Election result.
Also note that the voting tradition in AU is that if Labour gains control of the Federal government, then the Liberal/National Coalition generally gains control of the state legistlatures (and vice versa).
Perhaps you mean that a UK or AU lower chamber facing a hostile upper chamber is still functional and productive compared to the equivalent in the US. I think the threat of blocking supply or a vote of no confidence (or in the AU, a double dissolution) helps these governments be more willing to compromise with their opponents & pass legistlation, in the absence of a majority.
> some sort of minority government
A minority government is a rather specific term, and can be easily misunderstood when used to refer to an opposition-controlled upper house (which doesn't ever really exist in the UK). Could you please be more specific?