# How exactly does one dissolve a government? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 25, 2014, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-one-dissolve-a-government/696473 "2014-08-25T17:54:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-one-dissolve-a-government/696473/21 "2014-08-25T20:09:09Z")
Probably this has been sufficiently answered for the OP, but just in case I figured I’d give my take on the question: > [@](#): > > What does this mean, exactly? It seems to me that if the US tried to “dissolve” our government, we’d have a pretty freaking huge problem on our hands, but it also seems to me that I prolly just don’t understand the meanings of “dissolve” and “form” in this context. So, to put this into context, it would be as if we elected a party instead of an individual for the role of President (this varies widely, so this is just speaking broadly in general terms). So, instead of electing Obama verse McCain (who is still waiting for that big break) as president, we would vote on which representatives we wanted in something like the House of Commons (lower house) or whatever they call the elected part of parliament. So, people could vote on Democrat, Republican, Green Party, Liberatrian or Socialist or even Communist people in parliament, and since it’s not a winner take all system you could have a scattering of whoever happened to win in each district or whatever. Each would get some percentage of the vote in a Parliamentarian system. Unless one party had an out and out majority, they would form coalitions with other parties (hopefully of similar goals, but not always :p) to form a government and put forth a Prime Minister, who wouldn’t be elected as a president is in the US. And then this coalition would basically run the government for some period of time (it varies, but usually you have to have elections a some specified time frame). A popular government could call for elections when it’s advantageous to them, and not call for them when it’s not (again, depending on the specifics). But, if things are really bad, and the public lacks faith in the parliament, then a vote of no confidence can be called for in parliament (in the UK the Queen can call for it…not sure how France works), and if the vote goes against the coalition (which can happen if the coalition doesn’t stand shoulder to shoulder, which they wouldn’t if they are fighting fiercely as you described in the OP…they have to maintain that 50+ percent majority or the government fails) then the government is ‘dissolved’ and general elections in whatever House of Commons they have, and whichever parties are able to form a new majority coalition gets to form a new government and put forth a new Prime Minister or whatever and start the cycle again. I’m obviously glossing over a ton here, and probably my understanding is limited, but that’s my take FWIW. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-one-dissolve-a-government/696473/22 "2014-08-25T20:18:47Z")
Thanks for all the replies; I mostly understood the concept but the details y’all have provided have been great. It’s amazing how similar and yet how very different forms of government can be. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-one-dissolve-a-government/696473/23 "2014-08-25T21:00:45Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Lots of very hot water. And if that doesn’t work, try [gunpowder](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunpowder_Plot). ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-one-dissolve-a-government/696473/24 "2014-08-25T21:38:50Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > What happen then if there is an emergency situation that Commons needs to vote on during the period between its dissolution and the next election? > > For example, if a USA forces marched north across the border and threatened to annex Vancouver, but there was not enough money in the budget to defend Vancouver and an emergency appropriation was needed? I can’t think of anything that would absolutely require a vote in Parliament during the five weeks of the election. Bear in mind, the dissolution of the Commons does not affect the executive. The PM is still PM, and all Cabinet ministers at dissolution are still ministers during the election. The government continues to have all constitutional and statutory authority during the election as before. As well, the Constitution makes the Queen the C-in-C, and the power to declare war is vested in the Crown. The GovGen only exercises those powers on the advice of the Cabinet, so if a crisis comes up during the election, the government which was in power just before the election has all the authority it needs to respond to the crisis, by using the Crown’s executive powers under the Constitution and statutes like the National Defence Act. With respect to money, there is a standing statutory authority for the government to issue what’s called a special warrant for appropriation of money from the public treasury, if needed when Parliament is not sitting. Then, at the next sitting of Parliament, the government has to lay the special warrant before Parliament and seek retroactive approval for it. If that happened during the election, the approval of the special warrant would be one of the first orders of business for the new Parliament. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-one-dissolve-a-government/696473/25 "2014-08-25T22:33:29Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > For example, if a USA forces marched north We’d follow the [St. Stephen 1812 precedent](http://www.pressherald.com/2012/06/24/200-years-ago_2012-06-24/) by lending you our munitions so that you could have 4th of July fireworks. Then everyone from both sides of the border would party, as we did together in 1812. Or if you were not friendly when you invaded Canada, we’d follow [Prince’s 1838 precedent](http://www.tbla.ca/resources/European%20Law%20Speech%20by%20Justice%20Wright%20October%2016,%202012.pdf) by executing some of you for being land pirates. So really it would come down to your manners (that’s why we say “please” and “sorry” a lot in Canada, particularly concerning invasions), and would have nothing to do with our federal election. In other words, Northern Piper, as always, nailed it in one. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-one-dissolve-a-government/696473/26 "2014-08-25T22:46:26Z")
Hasn’t Belgium been happily plodding on without a government for years? It’s the sergeants that run an army, and the civil servants that run a country. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-one-dissolve-a-government/696473/27 "2014-08-25T22:52:09Z")
> [@](#): > > How exactly does one dissolve a government? Ointment. That’s what you need to dissolve a government. Ointment. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-one-dissolve-a-government/696473/28 "2014-08-25T23:06:00Z")
At one time being appointed a [UK] Minister disqualified the person from his seat in the House of Commons and he had to go to the trouble and expense of getting re-elected all over again. This was dropped in 1919. ---
**Author:** ![buddy431](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6a8cbe/32.png) [@buddy431](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddy431)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-one-dissolve-a-government/696473/29 "2014-08-25T23:07:10Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Hasn’t Belgium been happily plodding on without a government for years? It’s the sergeants that run an army, and the civil servants that run a country. After the election on 13 June, 2010, it took [541 days](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010%E2%80%932011_Belgian_government_formation) to form a government (total time of 589 days without a government), a world record. The government eventually formed is the current one. ---
**Author:** ![Malden\_Capell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malden_capell/32/5274_2.png) [@Malden\_Capell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malden_Capell)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-one-dissolve-a-government/696473/30 "2014-08-25T23:13:10Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Hasn’t Belgium been happily plodding on without a government for years? It’s the sergeants that run an army, and the civil servants that run a country. No. Belgium has always had a government, but there was a very long period where the parties could not agree on a political program, so the government in place had no mandate to do much beyond, essentially, keeping the lights on and the roads safe. A ‘caretaker’ government is the term. At the end of 2011 a political settlement was agreed, and so the present government has a stated policy agenda. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-one-dissolve-a-government/696473/31 "2014-08-25T23:44:52Z")
Generally agree with **XT’s** excellent summary, with three quibbles: 1. Some parliamentary systems are proportional representation, but others, like Canada and the UK, are first past the post. That doesn’t mean there’s always a majority government. There can be more than two parties in the House, so there can be a minority government, or even a formal coalition government, as is currently the case in the UK. 2. The Queen does not have the authority to call a vote of non-confidence. That is strictly a political question, decided by the Opposition parties in the Commons. However, if the government loses a confidence vote in the Commons, the Queen, as guardian of the constitution, can insist that the PM either seek a dissolution, or demonstrate that he has reconstructed a majority in the Commons, by gaining enough support from one of the other parties to command a majority in the House. 3. Although a loss on a confidence measure normally triggers an election, if there are indications that some other coalition is viable, then it may be that there is a change in the Cabinet, rather than a new election. This is particularly the case if there is a loss of confidence soon after the election. For example, in the 1985 election in Ontario, the Conservative government which called the election lost its clear majority in the Assembly, but still was the single largest party. The Premier insisted on meeting the new Assembly, but was defeated almost immediately be a combined vote from the Liberals and New Democrats. Since those two parties were clearly co-operating and had a working majority, the Lieutenant Governor did not call new elections. The Conservative Premier resigned and the LtGov called on the leader of the Liberals, the second largest party in the Assembly, to form a minority government. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-one-dissolve-a-government/696473/32 "2014-08-26T00:43:12Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > In other words, Northern Piper, as always, nailed it in one. [[blush]] ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-one-dissolve-a-government/696473/33 "2014-08-26T00:49:31Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > … > With respect to money, there is a standing statutory authority for the government to issue what’s called a special warrant for appropriation of money from the public treasury, if needed when Parliament is not sitting. Then, at the next sitting of Parliament, the government has to lay the special warrant before Parliament and seek retroactive approval for it. If that happened during the election, the approval of the special warrant would be one of the first orders of business for the new Parliament. What happens if the new Parliament doesn’t approve the special warrant, or outright rejects it? Maybe some money was spent on something for which there was a huge public backlash and the new Parliament doesn’t want anything to do with the flak. Can they disown it? If so, who (if anyone) has to pay the money back? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-one-dissolve-a-government/696473/34 "2014-08-26T00:54:51Z")
That situation has never arisen, but I doubt very much that the new Parliament would decline to ratify. The financial credibility of the government would take a big hit. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-one-dissolve-a-government/696473/35 "2014-08-26T00:55:17Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > …It’s not a law. Theoretically a cabinet member could refuse to tender a letter of resignation. In that case, the cabinet member will first be dealt with diplomatically and reminded to submit their letter. If some cabinet member ever actually refused, they could be fired by the President. Note this would also happen in a Westminster system if the Prime Minister lost a vote of confidence and refused to either resign or call new elections (or refused to resign after loosing said elections); the Queen/Governor-General/President would be constitutionally obliged to dismiss him or her. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-one-dissolve-a-government/696473/36 "2014-08-26T01:02:54Z")
Which happened in Australia once, when the government failed to pass its budget yet refused to call an election. The GovGen sacked the Prime Minister and appointed the Leader of the opposition as PM, who them advised the GovGen to call elections. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-one-dissolve-a-government/696473/37 "2014-08-26T01:13:48Z")
An interesting example of a government dissolving in the non-parliamentary sense was the breakup of Austria-Hungary after World War I. Austria-Hungary had been an Empire with various nations incorporated into it. When they lost the war, the various parts like Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia all began seceding from the Empire. It ended up that all of the pieces that had made up the Empire - including Austria and Hungary - declared their independence. There was still an Emperor, a Prime Minister, and a government but they didn’t have any country left to govern. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-one-dissolve-a-government/696473/38 "2014-08-26T01:35:57Z")
> [@Malden\_Capell](#): > > So when the French President dissolves the French Government, he’s really dissolved his Cabinet and is appointing a new one. Breaking news right now, by the way, is that the Ukrainian President has dissolved the Ukrainian Parliament. Note that the French President also has the power to dissolve the Assembly, that is to say our equivalent of the House of Representatives/House of Commons. This in turn typically leads to a re-organizing of the Cabinet to match the new results. It happens rarely, and is often a form of plebiscite : “if you like what I’m doing/if this Big Issue I want to tackle next is yours too, give me a pushover legislative to get it done quick”. It can also backfire horribly, as it did under President Chirac in '97 - who thought he had the support of the masses but instead wound up having to deal with an large opposition majority in the Assembly and a socialist PM & Cabinet for the remainder of his first term, in his case five loooong years. But in the case of the OP, yes it’s just a Cabinet shuffle. “These are my ministers, I will stand by them, and if you don’t like them… well I got others” :). Or, in this particular case, the ministers themselves sniping at each other in public which does not foster team spirit and jovial collaboration. So they all get the boot, a new PM is nominated by the Prez, in turn the PM appoints a new parcel of corrupt, incompetent rogues ; and on sails the great ship of France. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-one-dissolve-a-government/696473/39 "2014-08-26T01:38:07Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Ointment. > That’s what you need to dissolve a government. > Ointment. I thought what you need is alcohol. No, wait, that’s if you want to disclose a government. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-one-dissolve-a-government/696473/40 "2014-08-26T02:13:40Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Which happened in Australia once, when the government failed to pass its budget yet refused to call an election. The GovGen sacked the Prime Minister and appointed the Leader of the opposition as PM, who them advised the GovGen to call elections. Of course the complicating factor in Australia (& every Commonwealth Realm save the UK) is that the Prime Minister can also advise the Queen to dismiss the Governor-General which could lead to a race against time to see who fires who first (or Her Majesty might actually have to use her discretion & refuse the PM’s advise). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-one-dissolve-a-government/696473.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-one-dissolve-a-government/696473.md?page=3)