Five days after the inconclusive election May 6 — in which no party won a majority in the House of Commons — Conservative leader David Cameron and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg brought a new era to Britain's politics by starting the first coalition government since World War II. At 43, Prime Minister Cameron became Britain's youngest prime minister since 1812; Deputy Prime Minister Clegg is also 43.
To provide the "strong and stable government" that Mr. Cameron said Britain needs, the coalition will introduce five-year, fixed-term parliaments, thus ensuring that the Liberal Democrats can stay in power for at least that long.
In forming the coalition, the Liberal Democrats made concessions to the Conservative Party in such matters as reducing the government deficit, renewing the nation's nuclear force and restricting the inflow of non-European immigrants. But Mr. Cameron and Mr. Clegg may not be able to avoid all seeds of conflict as they run the government.