The parliamentary parties

As the constitution states, the members of the State Parliament can form themselves into parliamentary parties according to the rules of procedure. In this way, parliament as a whole is divided up along political lines. Parliamentary parties are unions of members of parliament with specific parliamentary rights and obligations. Their role lies in the formulation of political demands and objectives within the State Parliament. As a rule, all the members of a parliamentary party are motivated by the common desire to effectively achieve their own party’s political aims through the parliamentary party and thus give them real political weight.

Since democracy means a constant battle for majorities, there is a natural need for a political group to present a united front to the outside world. This does not mean that animated debate does not take place within the individual parliamentary parties themselves as to the correct course to follow. The unity of a parliamentary party is thus often the result of lengthy and very heated internal debate. The fact is that even among members of the same "colour", there can sometimes be big differences of opinion, just as in parliament as a whole. It is therefore important to balance the different interests within a parliamentary party against one another and as far as possible resolve conflict by internal compromise.

To cover their general needs, the parliamentary parties receive monthly allowances, the amount of which is calculated according to the Parliament Act. These may be used only to carry out their parliamentary duties, not for party purposes. The allowances are made up of a basic amount for each parliamentary party, a per capita quota for each member of a parliamentary party and an "opposition allowance" for each member of an opposition parliamentary party.