Given the inherent instability of Mr Ahern's minority coalition government, a fresh election is probably only 18 months away, at most.
Mr Gujral runs a fragile minority coalition government that depends for survival on the support of the Congress party, which has long ruled India.
The conservative opposition - which leads Julia Gillards minority coalition government in the opinion polls - has called the media inquiry a "naked attempt to intimidate the media".
Mr Conroy was quoted by the Associated Press as saying the terms of reference were under discussion with the Greens, a key partner in Julia Gillard's minority coalition government.
In proposing to form a minority government (in coalition with the Greens), Ms Ypsilanti was breaking an SPD campaign promise that it would not co-operate with the Left Party, the successor to East Germany's communists.
So, since Bertie Ahern's government is a minority coalition already badly buffeted by financial scandal and reliant on four maverick independents to stay afloat, it was little wonder that Mr McCreevy was forced to climb down.
The country has a sizeable Tamil minority and India's government has faced pressure from coalition allies that draw support from Tamil areas to support the resolution.
Two weeks ago, the Congress party declared it would stop propping up the minority United Front government unless it dropped one of its coalition partners, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (a regional party).
That wobbled along until 1998 when the coalition split, and the National Party carried on as a minority government.
The worry is that the Czech Republic's last experiment with a minority coalition Mr Klaus's ill-fated right-wing government, which lasted less than 18 months has set a dismal precedent.
If the Conservatives emerge as the biggest party in Parliament, they could form a coalition with the Lib Dems or get their backing for a minority Tory government.
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Opinion polls show the opposition Liberal-National coalition led by Tony Abbott well ahead of Labor, which formed a minority government after the last elections in 2010 with the support of independents and the Greens.
The party has 18 members in the lower house of Parliament and the absence of their support will further weaken a government which is in minority since the Trinamool Congress pulled out of the coalition in September.
First, though, the coalition must avoid a Lords-related bust-up that would result either in a minority Tory government or a general election.
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Tension rose in Macedonia , where a fragile coalition government embraces representatives of the country's Slav Macedonian majority and ethnic-Albanian minority, after fights between ethnic-Albanian nationalist guerrillas and security forces left several dead and sparked an exodus from some villages near the border with Kosovo.
In his final speech as presiding officer, Mr Fergusson, who has returned to parliament as a Tory MSP, Mr Fergusson said each Scottish election had delivered a first for Holyrood - a coalition government in 1999, a "rainbow parliament" of seven parties in 2003, minority government in 2007 and, now, a likely majority administration.
The Dutch coalition deal was copied from Denmark, where the Danish People's Party has backed a minority government since 2001.
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