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.
31-639: [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Race and politics The Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah ( APU or Muslims Unity Movement ) was an informal Malaysian political coalition . The now defunct political coalition was formed by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah 's formation of Parti Melayu Semangat 46 (S46 or Semangat 46) after leaving United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) that was declared illegal. jointly with Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), Pan-Malaysian Islamic Front (BERJASA), Muslim People's Party of Malaysia (HAMIM) and Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress (KIMMA) before 9th Malaysian General Election in 1990. KIMMA left
62-884: 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 ( Klub ); Belgium ( fractie / fraction / Fraktion ); Brazil and Portugal ("grupo parlamentar" or, informally, "bancadas"); Germany ( Fraktion ); Italy ( gruppo ), Finland (eduskuntaryhmä/ riksdagsgrupp );
93-606: A floor leader (equivalent to a parliamentary leader). So does the Senate and House of Delegates . In the Philippines, each body of the bicameral Congress has a majority floor leader and a minority floor leader. For the Senate , there is the majority floor leader of the Senate and the minority floor leader of the Senate . For the House of Representatives there is the majority floor leader of
124-533: A region's group of countries') parliament(s), and, in a broader scope, to foster the bilateral relations between said countries. Parliamentary friendship groups play an important role in New Zealand's engagement in inter-parliamentary relations, with group members often called upon to participate and host meetings for visiting delegations from the other part, as well as often being invited by the other country's parliament to visit it. Friendship Groups do not speak for
155-547: Is chosen in Canadian politics to lead their caucus in a legislative body, whether it be the House of Commons or a provincial legislature. They serve as interim legislative leaders, when a party leader either has no seat in the legislative body, during a transition period preceding, or following a leadership contest. Each of the seven political groups of the European Parliament has its own group leader. The groups within
186-507: Is to support the leadership by enforcing party discipline . In Armenia , political parties often form parliamentary groups before running in elections. Prior to the 2021 Armenian parliamentary elections , four different parliamentary groups were formed. A parliamentary group must pass the 7% electoral threshold in order to gain representation in the National Assembly . Higher electoral thresholds for parliamentary groups discourages
217-407: Is typically led by a parliamentary group leader or chairperson , though some parliamentary groups have two or more co-leaders . If the parliamentary group is represented in the legislature, the leader is almost always chosen from among the sitting members; if the leader does not yet have a seat in the legislature, a sitting member of the group may be expected to resign to make way for him or her. If
248-417: Is usually an MP responsible for managing the party's business within parliament. Party constitutions will typically distinguish between the parliamentary leader and the organisational leader (who typically is outside of parliament), with the latter often termed a "federal president" or "party president". The two roles are organisationally distinct even if close cooperation is expected. A parliamentary leader
279-496: The Netherlands ( fractie ); Poland ( klub ), Switzerland ( fraction / Fraktion / frazione ); Romania ( grup parlamentar ); and Russia ( фракция/fraktsiya ), Spain ('grupo parlamentario'), and Ukraine ( фракція/fraktsiya ). 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
310-486: The Parliamentary Friendship Groups , also called Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Groups , Friendship Parliamentary Groups , or Parliamentary Group of Friendship [and Cooperation] . "Parliamentary Friendship" groups are groups of congresspeople/members of parliament who voluntarily organise themselves to promote parliamentary relations between their own Parliament and another country's (or even
341-504: The United Kingdom Parliament there exist associations of MPs called "all-party parliamentary groups", which bring together members of different parliamentary groups who wish to involve themselves with a particular subject. This term is in a sense the opposite of the term 'parliamentary group', which designates a group that includes only members of the same party or electoral fusion. One special kind of parliamentary groups are
SECTION 10
#1733085025195372-475: The United States Senate , they are elected by their respective party conferences to serve as the chief Senate spokespeople for their parties and to manage and schedule the legislative and executive business of the Senate. By custom, the presiding officer gives the floor leaders priority in obtaining recognition to speak on the floor of the Senate. In the Senate's two-party system, the floor leaders are
403-629: The national parliament (in Westminster) who are separate from the party leaders—the party leader may hold office in a devolved (sub-national) parliament or assembly. The party leader of the Scottish nationalist SNP is John Swinney , who serves as first minister of Scotland , and does not sit at Westminster. The parliamentary group of the SNP at the Westminster parliament is led by SNP MP Stephen Flynn . In
434-426: The European Parliament are often very broad, so the position of the group leader is a unifying one—they may help to consolidate MEPs with similar outlooks ahead of important votes. The groups are organisationally separate from a European political party , and multiple parties often ally as a single group, thus the distinction between a party and a parliamentary leader is usually strict. In German politics, leaders of
465-546: The Government of their own country, or even for the whole of the Parliament/Congress to which they belong, as they are usually self-regulating and self-fulfilling. Parliamentary Friendship Groups are active in the national congresses/parliaments of countries such as Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Israel, Laos, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, South Korea, Switzerland, and
496-461: The House and the minority floor leader of the House . Officeholders do not represent political parties but rather political groupings within each body. In British politics , the leader of a party is typically the same person as the parliamentary leader. The leader may not fully control the party bureaucracy. The leader may be chosen by members of parliament (MPs) from among their number, or elected by
527-500: The United States, among many others. Parliamentary group leader A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislative body , whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. They are their party's most senior member of parliament (MP) in most parliamentary democracies . A party leader may be
558-566: The coalition before the 10th Malaysian General Election . APU along with the Gagasan Rakyat opposition coalitions led by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah after failures in the 1990 and 1995 general elections, were subsequently formally disbanded in 1996 after Razaleigh decided to dissolve Semangat 46 to return and rejoin back UMNO. This article about a Malaysian political party is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Political coalition Parliamentary groups may elect
589-544: The formation of parliamentary groups like Centre-right coalition and Centre-left coalition . In the Swiss Federal Assembly , at least five members are required to form a parliamentary group. The most important task is to delegate members to the commissions. The parliamentary groups are decisive in Swiss Federal Assembly and not the political parties, which are not mentioned in the parliamentary law. In
620-532: The formation of parliamentary groups running in elections. The parliamentary groups of the European Parliament must consist of no less than 25 MEPs from seven different EU member states . No party discipline is required. Parliamentary groups gain financial support and can join committees. Hungarian mixed-member majoritarian representation rewards the formation of parliamentary groups, like United for Hungary . Italian parallel voting system rewards
651-457: The major parties have often been heads of government of the various states rather than members of the national parliament. Hence, the position of parliamentary leader in the federal parliament (Germany also has 16 state parliaments) is often occupied by a different person. The parliamentary leader has the supreme responsibility for coordinating the work of the MPs representing his or her party. Even when
SECTION 20
#1733085025195682-424: The parliamentary and organisational leadership will be held by the same person or people, whether ex officio or not; other parties maintain a sharp distinction between the two offices. Nevertheless, in almost all cases, the parliamentary leader is the public face of the party, and wields considerable influence within the organisational wing, whether or not they hold any official position there. A parliamentary group
713-417: The parliamentary body in question, or no political office at all, the position of parliamentary leader is frequently held by a different person. In English, the leader may be referred to as a "parliamentary chairman", "group leader", "floor leader", "caucus leader" or simply "parliamentary leader", among other names. In Australian and New Zealand politics , the party figure commonly described as "leader"
744-413: The parliamentary group. In the House of Representatives , leaders of opposition parties are also their parties' parliamentary leader. Leaders of coalition parties might choose to enter the cabinet, serving as prime minister if their party is the largest in the coalition or otherwise as deputy prime minister . Otherwise they remain parliamentary leaders. The legislatures of most Palauan states have
775-415: The party is not represented in the legislature for the time being, the leader will often be put forward at a general election as the party's candidate for their most winnable seat. In some parties, the leader is elected solely by the members of the parliamentary group; in others, some or all members of the wider party participate in the election. Parliamentary groups often have one or more whips , whose role
806-574: The party leader is a member of the national parliament, the parliamentary leader can be a different person. For instance, Friedrich Merz was parliamentary leader while Angela Merkel was party leader for some years while the CDU was in opposition. If the party leader is the chancellor or a member of the government, another person always is the parliamentary leader. In both houses of the Dutch parliament , parliamentary leaders are formally elected by their peers in
837-556: The role of House Majority Leader normally goes to the second-highest member of the leadership of the majority party, because it traditionally elects its party leader to the position of Speaker . In contrast House Minority Leader serves as floor leader of the "loyal opposition," and is the minority counterpart to the Speaker. Similar positions exist for state legislatures as for both houses of Congress. In addition, "governor's floor leaders" or "administration floor leaders" may be selected by
868-430: The same person as the parliamentary leader, or the roles may be separated. In many countries, the position of leader of a political party (that is, the organisational leader) and leader of a parliamentary group are separate positions, and while they are often held by the same person, this is not always or automatically the case. If the party leader is a member of the government, holds a different political office outside
899-449: 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. The exact relationship between the parliamentary party and the party varies between countries, and also from party to party. For example, in some parties,
930-481: The spokespeople from both major parties, elected by their parties. They also serve essentially as executives of their parties within the Senate. The floor leaders are referred to as the Senate majority leader , who belongs to the party with the most senators, and the Senate minority leader , who belongs to the other major party. Similar positions exist in the United States House of Representatives , except that
961-462: The wider party membership at a party conference , but once elected must retain the support of the parliamentary party. Similarly, the position of prime minister may be given to the parliamentary leader (the party leader, in the case of the two major parties) of the largest political party in parliament , with the expectation they will be able secure and retain the confidence of a majority of MPs. Some smaller parties have parliamentary leaders in