Fraktion (Bundestag)

Fraktion (English: faction or fraction) is the name given to recognized parliamentary groups in the German Bundestag. In order to form a recognized parliamentary group (Fraktion), a lesser group (Gruppe) needs at least 5% of the members of the Bundestag. As there is also a 5% election threshold, with parties over this threshold usually getting assigned more than 5% of the seats, almost all groups can nearly automatically declare themselves factions, but due to conflicts, or as a result of below-threshold access granted to regional groups, this is not always the case. Also, even a group has to have at least three members to become recognized as Gruppe and gain more rights than the individuals have.

Current factions
Following German unification in October 1990, members of the East German parliament joined, resulting in some joint ventures until the 1990 German federal election in December.
 * CDU/CSU faction since September 1949
 * October 1990 to December 1990 CDU/CSU/DSU faction
 * SPD faction since September 1949
 * FDP faction September 1949 to October 2013 and since September 2017
 * Alliance 90/The Greens parliamentary group since October 1994
 * Faction The Greens March 1983 to October 1990
 * Faction The Greens/Alliance 90 October 1990 to December 1990
 * Group Alliance 90/The Greens, December 1990 to October 1994
 * AfD parliamentary group since September 2017

Former factions
In the early years of the Bundestag, 1949 to 1960, several parties had faction or group status before disappearing.


 * Group of the PDS October 1990 to September 1998
 * PDS faction September 1998 to September 2002
 * Faction The Left September 2005 to December 2023
 * Group The Left since February 2024
 * Group BSW since February 2024