Major party

A major party is a political party that holds substantial influence in a country's politics, standing in contrast to a minor party. It should not be confused with majority party.

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

Major party: a political party having electoral strength sufficient to permit it to win control of a government usually with comparative regularity and when defeated to constitute the principal opposition to the party in power.

— Merriam-Webster Dictionary online

Major parties hold a significant percentage of the vote in elections and claim higher membership than minor parties. Typically, major parties have the most donors, best-organized support networks and excellent funding for elections. Their candidates for political positions are closely watched since they have the highest chance of being elected to office because of the high membership, recognition and donations that these parties are able to generate.

Two major parties can lead to a two-party system. If there is only one major party, then it is a dominant-party system. In a multi-party system, a major party is one that occasionally controls the presidency or premiership and is the most influential party in a coalition government.

List of major parties

Country	Left-wing major party	Right-wing major party	Other major party	Notes
Australia	Australian Labor Party	Liberal Party of Australia	Australian Greens	Federally (and in New South Wales) the Liberal Party of Australia is in coalition with the Nationals.
Austria	Social Democratic Party	Austrian People's Party	Freedom Party
Canada	New Democratic Party of Canada	Conservative Party of Canada	Liberal Party of Canada	The Liberal party was the major left party until 2011, when it won the fewest seats in its history.
European Union	Party of European Socialists	European People's Party	Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party
France	Socialist Party	Union for a Popular Movement	National Front
Germany	Social Democratic Party	Christian Democratic Union	Free Democratic Party
India	Indian National Congress	Bharatiya Janata Party	Communist Party of India
Ireland	Labour Party	Fine Gael	Fianna Fáil	Fianna Fáil was the most voted party in Ireland from 1932 to 2011, when it was returned in third place with just 17.4% of the vote.
Israel	Kadima	Likud	Yisrael Beiteinu	Frequently in flux. Israeli Labor Party historically a major.
Italy	Democratic Party	The People of Freedom	Lega Nord
Japan	Democratic Party	Liberal Democratic Party	New Komeito Party
South Korea	Democratic United Party	Saenuri Party	-
Luxembourg	Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party	Christian Social People's Party	Democratic Party
Mexico	PRD	PAN	PRI
New Zealand	Labour Party	National Party	Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
Portugal	Socialist Party	Social Democratic Party	People's Party
Republic of China (Taiwan)	Democratic Progressive Party	Kuomintang	-
Singapore	Workers' Party	People's Action Party
Spain	Partido Socialista Obrero Español	Partido Popular	Izquierda Unida on votes and CIU on seats
United Kingdom	Labour Party	Conservative Party	Liberal Democrats
United States	Democratic Party	Republican Party	-	In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Federalist Party, Democratic-Republican Party, and Whig Party were all major.

See also

• Minor party