Political parties in the statutes and regulations of parliamentary groups between the 17th and 19th legislatures

The intricate relationship between political parties and parliamentary groups is a subject often overlooked in both political science and legal literature. This study aims to comprehensively examine the extent of variation in this relationship, ranging from a scenario where the parliamentary group is subordinate to the party to one where it enjoys substantial autonomy. To achieve this, the article conducts a comparative analysis of 65 internal statutes and regulations governing parliamentary groups in Italy spanning the XVII to XIX legislatures of the Italian Parliament. Key aspects under scrutiny include the procedures for forming a new group, the political orientation of the group, the autonomy of MPs in their decision-making, disciplinary measures, the involvement of party members in group activities, and transparency measures. The findings reveal significant disparities in the degree of reference to political parties across cases, thus indicating the need for further research to explore the implementation of these statutes and regulations in practice.