So I'm reading an editorial linked to by a friend on facebook, and I come across this little tidbit:Canadians pondering electoral reform should be thinking about the present turmoil in Ottawa and whether they like it as a possible norm under the system of proportional representation.And I think to myself... "well, that's not true."  The rest of the article is quite good, describing all the totally functional coalitions that have been important parts of Canada's history.  But this quote is just plain wrong.I'll keep saying this as many times as necessary, and you should take it to heart and repeat it to people you hear making this mistake:Minorities under proportional representation are not like minorities under first past the post.Why?  Simple.  Under first past the post, small changes in polling numbers make for big changes in seat counts.  So when you have a minority government, your motivation is to try and change the poll numbers a little bit, then go back to the polls.  That's why minorities are more or less useless right now.Under proportioanl representation, a small change in the poll numbers means a small change in the seat counts, so there is no motivation to go back to the polls.  Parties cooperate because they don't have any better alternatives.Will there be coalitions and the like?  Yes.  But beacuse everone knows that the current balance of power is unlikely to change much they will be accepted with a hell of a lot more grace than Prime Minister Harper has recently displayed.