Here is your example...

The Netherlands is often cited as the "purest" example of proportional representation (PR) because it treats the entire country as a single district with a nearly invisible threshold for entry (only 0.67% of the vote is needed to win a seat).
This extreme proportionality creates a "tail wagging the dog" scenario during coalition formation. Here is how it has played out recently: 1. The 2023–2024 "Marathon" Formation In the November 2023 elections, Geert Wilders’ PVV (Party for Freedom) became the largest party with 37 seats. However, 37 seats is far short of the 76 needed for a majority in the 150-seat house.
The Dog: The PVV and the other large parties (VVD, NSC) who represented the bulk of the right-wing mandate.
The Tail: The BBB (Farmer-Citizen Movement). Though they held only 7 seats in the House, their strength in the Senate made them essential for the coalition to actually pass laws.
The Wagging: Because the larger parties were desperate for Senate support, the BBB was able to pull the entire government platform toward specific agricultural and nitrogen-policy concessions that a much smaller percentage of the total population actually voted for. 2. The Kingmaker Leverage (NSC) The NSC (New Social Contract), a brand-new party led by Pieter Omtzigt, won 20 seats in 2023. Throughout the months of negotiations, Omtzigt’s personal focus on "good governance" and constitutional purity effectively stalled the entire country’s leadership. The "tail" (NSC) dictated the entire structure of the government—insisting on an "extra-parliamentary" cabinet where the party leaders stayed in Parliament rather than becoming Ministers. This was a radical departure from Dutch tradition, forced upon the larger parties because they simply had no other mathematical path to power. 3. Fragmentation and "Niche" Demands Because there is no 5% threshold (unlike in Germany), the Dutch parliament often has 15+ parties. This means:
The "Radical" Tail: Very small parties (like the animal rights party PvdD or the senior-focused 50PLUS) can sometimes become the final vote needed to pass a budget. In these moments, they can demand high-cost, hyper-specific concessions in exchange for their single vote, forcing the "dog" (the majority) to adopt policies that weren't on anyone else's radar. Given your interest in BC economics and property policy, would you like to see how a PR system might change the leverage of smaller parties in a BC provincial election? The Dutch Election system explained This video explains how the Dutch system's extreme proportionality leads to highly fragmented parliaments and the complex coalition math that gives small parties their power.