English Translation

242.) became a special branch and it was managed above all in its interest and not always in the interest of the whole. The parties became a tremendously expensive organism, which needed large sources of finance, which were mostly not procured in a good way. The parties, in order to gain as many hungers as possible, were increasingly the expression of certain partial interests and views of the groups, but became purchasers of positions, offices, partnerships and the merit of their individual members. Like the feudal states, in the last decades before the war, the political parties became firmly concentrated bodies, divided the people into consistently opposing groups, and very often, through their veto, their mutual jealousy, struggle, and intransigence, opposition to one another to the course of administration and government, paralyzed the parliament, prevented the rapidity and 1) effectiveness of the administrative state apparatus, etc. 1) If in these chapters I exercise this rather strict criticism of the continental political parties - for some it will perhaps be too strict - I do not want to give an unjust generalization to Daduroh There are also sub-shods among the parties: some are better, more defiant, less egotistical, others are savi- ty, less anstindy, more selfish,- This is also true of the relations of our republic before Munich, however, as I have repeatedly pointed out, our democracy in Europe was one of the best, and also the party relations were better with us than elsewhere. The European Union has a strong and effective role to play in this process, but it is still evolutionary, organisoh and easier to carry out than with other peoples.