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Concept
Parliamentary group
Summary
A parliamentary group, parliamentary caucus or political group is a group consisting of members of different political parties or independent politicians with similar ideologies. Some parliamentary systems allow smaller political parties, who are not numerous enough to form parliamentary groups in their own names, to join with other parties or independent politicians in order to benefit from rights or privileges that are only accorded to formally recognized groups. An electoral alliance, where political parties associate only for elections, is similar to a parliamentary group. A technical group is similar to a parliamentary group but with members of differing ideologies. In contrast, a political faction is a subgroup within a political party and a coalition forms only after elections.
Parliamentary groups may elect a parliamentary leader; such leaders are often important political players. Parliamentary groups in some cases use party discipline to control the votes of their members.
Parliamentary groups correspond to "caucuses" in the United States Congress and the Parliament of Canada. A parliamentary group is sometimes called the parliamentary wing of a party, as distinct from its organizational wing. Equivalent terms are used in different countries, including: Argentina (bloque and interbloque), Australia (party room); Austria (Club); Belgium (fractie/fraction/Fraktion); Brazil and Portugal ("grupo parlamentar" or, informally, "bancadas"); Germany (Fraktion); Italy (gruppo), Finland (eduskuntaryhmä/riksdagsgrupp); the Netherlands (fractie); Poland (frakcja), Switzerland (fraction/Fraktion/frazione); and Romania (grup parlamentar).
Generally, parliamentary groups have some independence from the wider party organisations. It is often thought improper for elected MPs to take instructions solely from non-elected party officials or from the small subset of the electorate represented by party members. In any case, the exigencies of government, the need to cooperate with other members of the legislature and the desire to retain the support of the electorate as a whole often preclude strict adherence to the wider party's wishes.
Official source
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