[en] 'Parties do matter' - this is the conclusion suggested by the coal crisis and the conflicts around nuclear power, i.e. the points of fracture in (West) German energy policy. Energy policy (too) does not take place in a 'party-free' space. Regardless of whether the 'vessel of state' is in calm waters or struggling in rough seas - its course is always determined by the parties at the helm. Parties have an ambivalent position in the body politic. They are (relatively) strong in their interaction with state administration and the latter's industrial clientele - which restrains the tendency of these to develop a 'techno-corporate' life or of their own; and this is particularly the case when their position as against the broad spectrum of social forces is (relatively) weak. This paves the way for functional opposition, protects alternative solutions and precludes the pursuance of 'extremist' paths. To leave out the parties would seem to imply (at least in the modernization process of energy policy) also leaving out rationality. (orig./HSCH)