Submission, a daily suicide

Power is too great, but it is too valuable to leave in the hands of honest politicians, said a philologist. Political parties can be described as an organized group, endowed with an official name, which as such presents candidates for election to public office. Parties have traditionally fulfilled an important bridging function between government and society. This gives the parties the most important task, they recruit and select candidates for representative bodies and for other political positions in the public administration at all municipal, provincial, national and European levels. When submitting names, they rely on their active member support base. In addition, the party usually sets itself the task of educating and training active members, thereby creating a reservoir from which to draw when selecting political personnel. Formally, people can also present themselves individually as candidates for representative bodies, but the probability of success of such actions with one person is extremely low. In addition to appointing candidate representatives, on whom the voter obviously has the final say, parties have a role in appointing high-ranking officials, such as ministers, commissioners and mayors, although their control over the appointment of the last officials has decreased recently. In addition to this exclusive practical right to nominate candidates, the articulation and synthesis of many views, interests, desires and ideas within society is an important function of parties. As mediators, the parties must weigh the often conflicting preferences and interests of groups in society and arrange them into a coherent program. The guiding principle here is their ideology, a coherent vision of the desirable organization of society, usually recorded in a statement of principles. Parties do not have a monopoly on the media, and interest groups also raise issues and exert influence on the political agenda. In the run-up to elections, parties try to win voter support for their program and their candidates. In theory, the perceived self-interest of the party promotes here the common good. Efforts by parties to win voters in election campaigns or to recruit members would ideally stimulate citizens' political participation, involve them more in the political decision-making process and thus contribute to their integration into the system political. This benefits the legitimacy of that order (including the parties). In performing all these functions, the parties directly or indirectly fulfill their main function, namely to act as an intermediary between the government and society. Parties are an essential link between politics and the electorate, they convey persistent critical views of political parties.Criticism of parties can be heard as long as they exist. In the second half of the nineteenth century, among the political structures, there was great resistance to the formation of parties, because this would only lead to division. Naturally, the elite also feared that their privileged position would be jeopardized. In the interwar period, criticism came mainly from authoritarians: alleged political divisions were said to be at odds with the popular community cherished in these circles. Parties would arise only for the interests of their supporters and lose sight of the general interest. Politicians had become regents standing at a great distance from the voter. Parties were non-democratic organizations without a sharp profile, focused above all on maintaining power.