<P> Their roles in the chamber include taking divisions, and maintaining a "pairs book" which controls the ability of members and senators to leave the parliament building during sittings, as well as the entitlement to be absent during divisions . </P> <P> Liberal Party whips are appointed by the leader of the party, while Australian Labor Party whips are elected by the Caucus . For Labor and the Liberals, the chief whip is assisted by two deputy whips . </P> <P> In Canada the Party Whip is the member of a political party in the Canadian House of Commons, the Canadian Senate or a provincial legislature charged with ensuring party discipline among members of the caucus . The whip is also responsible for assigning offices and scheduling speakers from his or her party for various bills, motions and other proceedings in the House . </P> <P> In Greece, party discipline is normally very strict . However, a few governments have collapsed despite this strictness . The role of the whip is usually exercised by the party leader but Kostas Karamanlis, the prime minister from 2004 to 2009 and former leader of the New Democracy party, mostly used Giannis Tragakis, General Secretary of his party parliamentary group, as a whip . Until November 2008, New Democracy, Karamanlis' party, had 152 MPs out of 300 . When Petros Tatoulis, MP for Arcadia Prefecture, stated that Karamanlis was guilty of a few political scandals, Karamanlis immediately expelled him from both the parliamentary group and the party, as a result giving New Democracy a majority of only one seat . </P>

Why are party politics so important in congressional organization