ABSTRACT
The parliamentary party groups (Fraktionen) dominate parliamentary business in the German Bundestag to such an extent that one observer characterised them as ‘the rulers over the parliamentary process in almost every respect’ (Schüttemeyer 1994:36). The first German parliamentary party groups at the national level developed in the Frankfurt National Assembly of 1848/49. They were purely parliamentary creations based on regional or ideological affinity and corresponded quite closely to the ideal type of ‘club’ as defined in Heidar and Koole’s introductory chapter (Boldt 1971:18-53; Kretschmer 1984:17-19). It was not before the formation of the German Empire in 1870/71 that parliamentary party groups could develop at the national level and, due to the extension of the suffrage,
became closely related to the electoral organizations which were growing in the country to appeal to the new, large, national electorate on the basis of programs containing general political and philosophical principles. The parliamentary caucuses, first inspired by parliamentary tactical considerations, were now attached to extraparliamentary organizations and inspired by electoral considerations.
