Parliamentary group
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Parliamentary group and parliamentary party are terms used to refer to the representation of a political party or electoral fusion of parties in a legislative assembly such as a parliament or in a city council.
A parliamentary group is led by a parliamentary group leader or chairperson, also called a whip in some countries. Generally, parliamentary groups have varying degrees of independence from the party itself, which depend on the country, since it is felt that it would be improper for elected MPs to take instructions from non-elected party officials or from the small subset of the electorate represented by party members. The exact relation between the parliamentary party and the party also varies from party to party.
The term especially applies to the United States (where the term caucus is used), Australia and many European countries including, but not restricted to, Germany (where the term Fraktion is used), Switzerland (fraction/fraktion/frazione), to Austria (club), Belgium (fractie/fraction/fraktion), Italy (gruppo), Finland (eduskuntaryhmä/riksdagsgrupp), and the Netherlands (fractie), which all have recognized multiparty systems and strong party discipline. In these and many other countries, the only way that parties and MPs can receive financial and personal support and can join parliamentary committees is by organizing themselves in parliamentary groups. Parliamentary group leaders are often important political players. Parties that are not in government often choose the party's political leader as the chairperson. Parliamentary groups often use party discipline to control the votes of their members. MPs can also choose to leave their own party and (sometimes) set up their own parliamentary group.
The political groups of the European Parliament are similar to parliamentary groups. They are more regulated than other kinds of parliamentary groups: to gain financial support or to join committees, each parliamentary group must consist of no less than 19 MEPs from five different EU member states.
