--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The country has always been governed by a…" description: "\"The country has always been governed by a coalition but today it is governed by a so-called Grand Coalition which is a more polite word for all and sun..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21e/george-mikes-4493_coalition_the-country-has-always-been-governed-by_1088669.png" --- # The country has always been governed by a coalition but… ![“The country has always been governed by a coalition but today it is governed by a so-called Grand Coalition which is a more polite word for all and sundry.” quote by George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21e/george-mikes-4493_coalition_the-country-has-always-been-governed-by_1088669.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21e/george-mikes-4493_coalition_the-country-has-always-been-governed-by_1088669.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21e/george-mikes-4493_coalition_the-country-has-always-been-governed-by_1088669.png) > “The country has always been governed by a coalition but today it is governed by a so-called Grand Coalition which is a more polite word for all and sundry.” [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote sat that a coalition government sounds inclusive, but “Grand Coalition” merely masks that everyone is involved, often leading to diluted responsibility. **In simple terms:** A coalition sounds polite, but “Grand Coalition” means everyone is in charge, reducing accountability. Key Takeaway Beware of vague labels that hide true power structures. Themes politics governance language power accountability Mood skeptical critical analytical Type political satirical observational When to use this quote - elections - parliamentary negotiations - policy formation - public communication Key Concepts collective decision‑making political branding democratic legitimacy Questions to Reflect On - Who really holds power in such a broad coalition? - How does vague terminology affect public trust? 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In the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/in-the-german-football-team-players-from-different-clubs-need-to-get/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [You don't build a coalition by insulting our friends or acting like a loose cannon. You do it by putting in the slow, hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/you-don-t-build-a-coalition-by-insulting-our-friends-or-acting-like-a/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I have a lot of respect for the Concord Coalition and have done work with them over the years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-furman/i-have-a-lot-of-respect-for-the-concord-coalition-and-have-done-work/) [Jason Furman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-furman/) > [We built a coalition of conscience, and that we can do it again, and we can go forward, and help redeem the soul of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lewis/we-built-a-coalition-of-conscience-and-that-we-can-do-it-again-and-we/) [John Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lewis/) > [The Christian Coalition is still about Christianity, even if it's an idea of Christianity that many Christians might not go along with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-christian-coalition-is-still-about-christianity-even-if-it-s-an/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [When I was in charge of the Christian Coalition I was available to mobilize grass roots support for somebody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-robertson/when-i-was-in-charge-of-the-christian-coalition-i-was-available-to/) [Pat Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-robertson/) > [One woman is a pest and two women is a team, but three women or more is a coalition. If you can bring a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlo-thomas/one-woman-is-a-pest-and-two-women-is-a-team-but-three-women-or-more/) [Marlo Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlo-thomas/) > [Military operations cannot be tidy or free of friction - particularly in a coalition whose contributing nations see the campaign through national prisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-jackson/military-operations-cannot-be-tidy-or-free-of-friction-particularly/) [Mike Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-jackson/) > [The Coalition's message of jobs and growth is resonating very, very strongly in North and Central Queensland and one thing they're particularly fearful of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-brandis/the-coalition-s-message-of-jobs-and-growth-is-resonating-very-very/) [George Brandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-brandis/) > [The Democratic Party is a coalition. Its strength and its weakness is, it's a coalition of interest groups, caucuses. It's a lot less homogeneous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-shields/the-democratic-party-is-a-coalition-its-strength-and-its-weakness-is/) [Mark Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-shields/) > [We have to go massively, like we did in the first Gulf War where we destroyed Saddam's ability to take Kuwait. We need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kasich/we-have-to-go-massively-like-we-did-in-the-first-gulf-war-where-we/) [John Kasich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kasich/) > [There's a lot of things we can do to balance out what Obama's done and going forward show the American people the Republican Party…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/there-s-a-lot-of-things-we-can-do-to-balance-out-what-obama-s-done/) [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) > [And the commitment that I've been giving to the Australian people is that there'll be no surprises and no excuses under a Coalition government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/and-the-commitment-that-i-ve-been-giving-to-the-australian-people-is/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [One of the things the United States does well is building coalitions. What the U.S. knows is that if you don't have a coalition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/one-of-the-things-the-united-states-does-well-is-building-coalitions/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) ## More by George Mikes > [THE British are brave people. They can face anything, except reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/the-british-are-brave-people-they-can-face-anything-except-reality/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [The British suffer from a most unfortunate superiority complex - unjustified even under Victoria and most certainly hopelessly out-of-date today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/the-british-suffer-from-a-most-unfortunate-superiority-complex/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [Remember that those five hundred words an average Englishman uses are far from being the whole vocabulary of the language. You may learn another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/remember-that-those-five-hundred-words-an-average-englishman-uses-are/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [English humor resembles the Loch Ness Monster in that both are famous but there is a strong suspicion that neither exists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/english-humor-resembles-the-loch-ness-monster-in-that-both-are-famous/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [“Before you are admitted to British citizenship you are not even considered a natural human being. I looked up the word natural (na’tural) in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/before-you-are-admitted-to-british-citizenship-you-are-not-even/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [“In the last century, when a wicked and unworthy subject annoyed the Sultan of Turkey or the Czar of Russia, he had his head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/in-the-last-century-when-a-wicked-and-unworthy-subject-annoyed-the/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [“While all this goes on, the English remain staunch believers in equality. Equality is a notion the English have given to humanity. Equality means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/while-all-this-goes-on-the-english-remain-staunch-believers-in/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [I asked many friends if Australian anti-intellectualism was still a living force and they all told me it was. If you are above average…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/i-asked-many-friends-if-australian-anti-intellectualism-was-still-a/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [Once you start buying first aid kits you start having accidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/once-you-start-buying-first-aid-kits-you-start-having-accidents/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [“Mr S. got angry. ‘Yes, I do have a son. He’s a good-for-nothing. A dead loss.’ I couldn’t ask which prison he was in,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/mr-s-got-angry-yes-i-do-have-a-son-he-s-a-good-for-nothing-a-dead/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [“I have been told that my above-described theory is all wrong and is only due to my Central European conceit, because the English do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/i-have-been-told-that-my-above-described-theory-is-all-wrong-and-is/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [Rich people (in Australia) have swimming pools in their gardens but, at least, they do swim in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/rich-people-in-australia-have-swimming-pools-in-their-gardens-but-at/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [“An average English house combines all the curses of civilisation with the vicissitudes of life in the open. It is all right to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/an-average-english-house-combines-all-the-curses-of-civilisation-with/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [Australia objects to the mini-skirt not on moral but on economic grounds. Australians are no prudes and the lovely, healthy, sporty Australian girls have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/australia-objects-to-the-mini-skirt-not-on-moral-but-on-economic/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [The Art of Conversation could not die in Australia; it never lived. Television did not kill it; there was nothing there to kill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/the-art-of-conversation-could-not-die-in-australia-it-never-lived/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) [Explore all 110 George Mikes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) ## More Coalition quotes > [One of the things the United States does well is building coalitions. What the U.S. knows is that if you don't have a coalition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/one-of-the-things-the-united-states-does-well-is-building-coalitions/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [And the commitment that I've been giving to the Australian people is that there'll be no surprises and no excuses under a Coalition government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/and-the-commitment-that-i-ve-been-giving-to-the-australian-people-is/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [Research promoted by NARA within a major coalition of Federal and private sector research partners has at last demonstrated that an Electronic Records Archives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-weinstein/research-promoted-by-nara-within-a-major-coalition-of-federal-and/) [Allen Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-weinstein/) > [Vajpayee had a much bigger stature than Mr Modi. He knew how to run a coalition government very successfully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naveen-patnaik/vajpayee-had-a-much-bigger-stature-than-mr-modi-he-knew-how-to-run-a/) [Naveen Patnaik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naveen-patnaik/) > [We've had Saudis and Jordanians and Pakistanis who have - and Syrians - who have been involved in armed attacks against coalition forces in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-armitage/we-ve-had-saudis-and-jordanians-and-pakistanis-who-have-and-syrians/) [Richard Armitage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-armitage/) > [Here, I am looking for a document issued by a public attorney. I don't find. He is accused by the political leaders of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-verges/here-i-am-looking-for-a-document-issued-by-a-public-attorney-i-don-t/) [Jacques Verges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-verges/) > [There's a lot of things we can do to balance out what Obama's done and going forward show the American people the Republican Party…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/there-s-a-lot-of-things-we-can-do-to-balance-out-what-obama-s-done/) [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) > [We have to go massively, like we did in the first Gulf War where we destroyed Saddam's ability to take Kuwait. We need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kasich/we-have-to-go-massively-like-we-did-in-the-first-gulf-war-where-we/) [John Kasich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kasich/) > [It would be a tragedy if the remarkable international coalition against terrorism, successfully marshalled in the aftermath of 11 September, were to fragment over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kennedy/it-would-be-a-tragedy-if-the-remarkable-international-coalition/) [Charles Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kennedy/) > [“Unless the Labour leadership candidates decide to settle the issue through televised mud-wrestling (Adam Boulton, I think, for referee, and he may even take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-aaronovitch/unless-the-labour-leadership-candidates-decide-to-settle-the-issue/) [David Aaronovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-aaronovitch/) > [The Democratic Party is a coalition. Its strength and its weakness is, it's a coalition of interest groups, caucuses. It's a lot less homogeneous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-shields/the-democratic-party-is-a-coalition-its-strength-and-its-weakness-is/) [Mark Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-shields/) > [The Coalition's message of jobs and growth is resonating very, very strongly in North and Central Queensland and one thing they're particularly fearful of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-brandis/the-coalition-s-message-of-jobs-and-growth-is-resonating-very-very/) [George Brandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-brandis/) > [The job of nation building, the job of nation leadership in a difficult, complex coalition has worked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azim-premji/the-job-of-nation-building-the-job-of-nation-leadership-in-a/) [Azim Premji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azim-premji/) > [Military operations cannot be tidy or free of friction - particularly in a coalition whose contributing nations see the campaign through national prisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-jackson/military-operations-cannot-be-tidy-or-free-of-friction-particularly/) [Mike Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-jackson/) > [Like Hamas, ISIS was deeply embedded in urban areas. And the international coalition against ISIS worked hard to protect civilians and create humanitarian corridors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-austin/like-hamas-isis-was-deeply-embedded-in-urban-areas-and-the/) [Lloyd Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-austin/) [Browse all 153 Coalition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coalition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The country has always been governed by a coalition but today it is governed by a so-called Grand Coalition which is a more polite word for all and sundry.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Mikes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/the-country-has-always-been-governed-by-a-coalition-but-today-it-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Coalition" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/the-country-has-always-been-governed-by-a-coalition-but-today-it-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21e/george-mikes-4493_coalition_the-country-has-always-been-governed-by_1088669.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21e/george-mikes-4493_coalition_the-country-has-always-been-governed-by_1088669.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21e/george-mikes-4493_coalition_the-country-has-always-been-governed-by_1088669.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The country has always been governed by a coalition but today it is governed by a so-called Grand Coalition…” — George Mikes", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "George Mikes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The country has always been governed...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/the-country-has-always-been-governed-by-a-coalition-but-today-it-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/the-country-has-always-been-governed-by-a-coalition-but-today-it-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```