Arbeitsgruppen und Arbeitskreise der Parlamentsfraktionen

Abstract

In the Bundestag and in the state parliaments, parliamentary party groups (PPGs) have set up working groups that more or less mirror parliamentary committees and government departments . They serve the purpose to prepare policy positions; hence, they are important institutions for forming opinions within their parliamentary group and for clarifying conflicts, including those with the government . In the rather informal structure of working groups, several conflicting logics meet: party discipline, MPs’ ties to their constituencies, support for the government, and specialization . Working groups do not meet in public and there are hardly any reports about them . This arcane area offers an opportunity for open debate among MPs as well as between them and government officials attending the meetings . Working groups of the majority PPG(s) are also a mood barometer for the politics of the government and may serve as its supporters when it comes to asserting cabinet interests inside the parliamentary party . However, the informational and power imbalance between government and parliament is only reduced by working groups of the PPGs of the governmental majority because opposition working groups are not able to exchange information directly with government representatives .