If the justification for a minimum threshold is to avoid excessive fragmentation and secure a reasonably well-structured parliament, thus making it easier to form a government, a national threshold is the logical approach and this is the one that is most frequently adopted. A major disadvantage is that it impedes the representation of regional parties and ones representing the interests of national minorities. Certain countries, such as Spain, where this is a particularly important issue have therefore opted for a constituency threshold. It is probably inappropriate to make any general recommendation. At most it might be argued that national thresholds are acceptable in countries where there is no real national minority problem, or where there are specific measures to deal with it, but that they must be used with care, and even replaced by local thresholds where this is necessary.