Parliamentary group – Wikipedia

And parliamentary group , also called caucus or conference , is an association of parliamentarians who regroup according to their political choices within a parliament chamber.

In most parliaments, the group constitution allows elected officials who are members to benefit from certain advantages (speaking time, vice-president, commissions, for example). The members of a parliamentary group generally undertake to respect the discipline of their group during the votes ^{[ first ]} .

The members of a parliamentary group are generally all members of a single political party, but a group can also be made up of members of different parties, especially if their party does not have enough seats to form a group according to of the threshold established by the regulations of the Parliament.

In Germany, parliamentary groups are called Fractions And play an important role in the work of the German Bundestag, for example during the votes of parliamentary commissions or in the deposit of bills or amendments. Parliamentary groups have access to special funding for their operation. Each group can also appoint a vice-president and the latter monitor the votes by hand in plenary session.

A parliamentary group must be composed of at least 5% of deputies and its members must all come from the same party or from parties which are not in competition (this is particularly the case with the CDU and the CSU which are not present in the same regions). There is a special status, with less prerogatives, for small groups ( The group , at least 3 deputies but less than 5%).

Since the introduction in 1957 of a clause imposing on the parties to receive at least 5% during the elections to be represented, the SPD, the CDU and the FDP have always had a parliamentary group. In the Bundestag elected in 2009, Alliance 90 / The Greens and the Linkspartei also have a group.

House of Representatives [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

To build up, a political group must include at least five members.

Senate [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Each group brings together the senators who were elected on the same list. However, some senators sit as independent members. Note the possibility for a group to exist with a single senator.

In Commonwealth countries, parliamentary groups are generally called “caucus” or “parliamentary party”.

In the Westminster system, a caucus can be quite powerful since it often has the ability to elect or dismiss the party leader to Parliament. Caucus is also determined on political subjects, parliamentary tactics and discipline measures against disobedient parliamentarians. In some parties, as is the case traditionally in the Australian Labor Party or the Labor Party of New Zealand, the Caucus chooses the parliamentarians who integrate the cabinet when the party is in the government.

The concepts of political and parliamentary groups are often amalgamated, the leader of a sufficiently powerful political party in the Chamber to form a parliamentary party is necessarily the “parliamentary group leader” or the “parliamentary leader”. If he wins a number of seats allowing him to form a government, he becomes the Prime Minister While the group leader holding the most important parliamentary quota after that of the majority is qualified as ” opposition (Official or not depending on the legal status of the title). In the case of a parliamentary group management vacancy following an electoral defeat, a resignation or a death, the function of parliamentary chief is temporarily assumed by another representative in the room until that a new chef is elected ^{[ 2 ] , [ 3 ]} .

In the internal functioning of the group:

• the “leader of the parliamentary group” chairs the work of the parliamentary group and represents it ^{[ 2 ]} ;
• The “president of the caucus” or the “president of the parliamentary group” directs the deliberations of the parliamentary group ^{[ 4 ]} ;
• The “Whips” (s) (which can be “Whip -in”, “Whip” or “Deputy Whip”), designated by the leader of the parliamentary group, are responsible for enforcing the discipline and cohesion of the parliamentary group ^{[ 5 ]} .

In addition, the Chief Whip of the Government traditionally attends the cabinet meetings ^{[ 5 ]} .

Canada [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Parliamentary groups are generally designated under the term “caucus”. Twelve deputies are necessary for a party to be recognized in the House of Commons of Canada.

In the Quebec National Assembly, a group must:

• include twelve elected officials under the banner of the same political party;
• to be a group of deputies elected under the banner of a political party and having obtained at least 20% of the votes in the most recent general elections

As deputies are not affiliated with a group sit as an independent.

In the United States Congress, parliamentary groups are officially called “Conferences” for the Republican Party and “Caucus” for the Democratic Party.

Within these groups, members of the Congress can also meet according to their political trends: Blue Dog Coalition for conservative democrats or Tea Party Caucus For members of the Tea Party movement for example.

Finally, there are also caucus bringing together the members of the congress according to ethnic or racial bases, such as the black caucus of the congress.

National Assembly [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The notion of Political group in the National Assembly is determined by article 19 of the regulation of this same assembly. Each group must have at least 15 deputies ^{[ 6 ]} . This figure was 30 until 1988, it went to 20, then to 15 in 2009, in accordance with a promise by Nicolas Sarkozy to Jean-Michel Baylet, to obtain his support during the vote of July 21, 2008 ^{[ 7 ]} .

Those who do not wish to be fully part of a group can, however, be related to it. Each group writes a political declaration submitted to the president of the National Assembly by the “Group President” that they have previously chosen. The same deputy can only be part of a single group. Defense groups of particular, local or professional interests and leading to their members the acceptance of an imperative mandate are not authorized under article 27 of the Constitution, which “any imperative mandate is zero” ^{[ 8 ]} .

Under article 51-1 of the Constitution guaranteeing specific rights to opposition groups, as well as minority groups, a parliamentary group can declare itself as “opposition” during its political declaration. The other groups not declaring themselves as such are called “minority”, with the exception of that of them which counts the highest workforce ^{[ 9 ]} .

Posts of responsibility, seats in permanent commissions and speaking times are divided to the proportional representation of groups. It is also up to groups to choose speakers during sessions to weigh on decisions, for example in the permanent commissions. Unsecured to a group can only question the members of the government every two months during questions to the government and they are not represented at the Conference of Presidents of the National Assembly, where the agenda is fixed by group leaders ^{[ ten ]} . On October 12, 2021, Mathilde Panot became, at 32, the youngest woman president of parliamentary group, in this case the group La France Insoumise ^{[ 11 ]} .

Senate [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The notion of Political group in the Senate is determined by article 5 of the regulation of this same assembly. Groups must represent at least 10 senators. This limit was set at 15 senators until 2011.

In 1975, the communist senator Marie-Thérèse Goutmann became the first woman to preside over a parliamentary group in France ^{[ twelfth ]} .

To exist, a political group must have five members. If it does not have these five members, it forms a political sensitivity, or technical group.

In the two councils (National Council and Council of States), parliamentarians regroup in groups bringing together elected officials according to political affinities, but that does not necessarily imply belonging to the same party.

For a group to exist, it must have at least five members in total of the two chambers ^{[ 13 ]} . MPs who are not attached to any group are qualified as “not registered”. They therefore have no sieges in any commission.

Parliamentary groups play an important role: they examine the main objects (elections of federal advisers and federal judges as well as current affairs) before they are subject to advice. At the National Council, you must be a member of a group to be able to sit within a commission. The larger the group, the higher the number of seats in committee, which allows you to have a pendulum power on committee votes, before presenting the projects before the two councils.

In the European Parliament, a group must be made up of deputies belonging to more than one Member State. The minimum number of deputies necessary to constitute a political group is set to

• Twenty-three deputies if they belong to two Member States
• Eighteen deputies if they belong to three Member States
• Fourteen deputies if they belong to four member states or more.