After an election, if no party wins an outright majority, you enter coalition-building mode. The Elections & Politics screen will prompt you to invite partners via Coalition Decisions. Your goal is to get your combined parliamentary share above 50%.
Who Can Join
Any party that cleared the election threshold (default 5%) is eligible. Parties below that threshold don’t enter parliament at all. You can raise or lower the threshold between elections using the political actions on the Elections & Politics screen; a higher threshold keeps parliament cleaner but locks out small parties entirely.
What It Costs
Inviting a partner spends Political Power. The cost is proportional to two things: how large the party is (its electoral share) and how ideologically distant it is from your ruling party. A small, nearby partner might run 200 PP. A large, distant one can exceed 4000 PP. Plan accordingly. If you’re cash-strapped, invite your closest neighbors first, then decide whether the remaining gap is worth the price.
Approximate costs:
| Distance | Small partner (5%) | Large partner (20%) |
|---|---|---|
| Close (0.2) | ~200 PP | ~800 PP |
| Distant (1.0) | ~1000 PP | ~4000 PP |
Removing a Partner
You can kick a partner out mid-term via Coalition Decisions. You get back 75% of what you paid to invite them. If a partner becomes a liability (their popularity collapses mid-term and you no longer need their seats), removing them is roughly PP-neutral in the long run.
When the Coalition Dissolves
At the next election, the coalition dissolves automatically. You receive a bulk refund of the original invite costs for every partner in the coalition at that point. A broad but expensive coalition is not a permanent drain; most of that PP comes back at election time to fund the next round of negotiations.
Coalition Strength and Stability
The game tracks Government Coalition Strength: the total share held by your ruling party plus all coalition partners. The gap between that number and what the election actually produced affects your PP gain, stability, and drift defense:
- Coalition exceeds its electoral mandate → bonus to stability, PP, and drift defense
- Coalition falls short → penalty to all three
This matters most when public opinion shifts mid-term. If partners lose popularity, your governing position weakens even if no seats have changed.
The Ruling Party Can Change
After each full election term, the system checks whether any coalition partner now holds more electoral share than the current ruling party. If so, that partner becomes the new ruling party and your former ruling party slides into the coalition instead. You keep the government but lose the top seat. Watch for growing partners if you want to stay in charge.
Practical Priorities
- Check if you even need a coalition. If your ruling party clears 50%, skip the invitations entirely.
- Sort partners by ideological distance before cost. A close partner at 20% share costs far less than a distant partner at the same size.
- Don’t overbuild. Inviting more seats than you need wastes PP. Take the minimum coalition that gives you a working majority.