The faction was originally known as the
Democratic Group, and consisted of a coalition of parties from different cantons, including the Extreme Left party () from
Ticino and the Democratic Group from
Graubünden. In the
1919 federal elections, the faction won four seats. Although it was reduced to three seats in the
1922 elections, it won five seats in the
1925 elections. However, it was reduced back to three seats after the
1928 elections. In 1931, the faction was renamed the Social-Political Group, In 1971, before the
elections that year, the faction split into two. The
Glarus and
Graubunden branches merged with the
Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents to form the
Swiss People's Party, while the rest of the group merged into the
Free Democratic Party. ==References==