ABSTRACT
More than a decade has elapsed since the passage of the “Federal Law Concerning the Duties, Funding and Campaigning of the Political Parties” (“Parties’ Law”—Federal Law Gazette 404/1975 as amended) without any success in truly effectively coming to grips with those problems which led to its passage. Then and now, journalists and the public asked the question of the parties’ actual worth to the nation. Then and now, complaints were made about the existing lack of transparency of the parties’ budgets, the procurement of funds and their use. Then and now, the question was discussed as to what effect access to funds can have on the party landscape (petrification or dynamics) and on the opposition parties. Then and now, the justification of the expenses run up by the parties, particularly in election years, was questioned.
