Government unfortunately by The Big Parties (5)

I believe the answer is:

galas

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'the big parties' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are plural nouns, I cannot see how they can define each other.

'government unfortunately by' is the wordplay.
'government' becomes 'g'.
'unfortunately' becomes 'alas' (I've seen this before).
'by' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'g'+'alas'='GALAS'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for galas that I've seen is " Bashes".)

I've seen this clue in the Irish Times (Crosaire) and the Irish Times.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.