[1] Their areas of responsibility, in parallel with the ruling party's ministries, may be referred to as a shadow portfolio.
[6][7] The shadow ministers' duties may give them considerable prominence in the party caucus hierarchy especially if it is a high-profile portfolio.
Moreover, in most Westminster-style legislative bodies all recognised parliamentary parties are granted a block of public funding to help their elected members carry out their duties, often in addition to the budgets individual legislators receive to pay for constituency offices and other such expenses.
However, the consistency with which parties assuming power appoint shadow ministers into the actual roles in government varies widely depending on such things as jurisdiction, the traditions and practices of the party assuming government, the exact circumstances surrounding their assumption of power and even the importance of the cabinet post in question.
On the other hand, incoming governments in the Westminster system often change the number and/or composition of ministries upon assuming office.
[citation needed] While the practice of parliamentary shadow cabinets or frontbenches is not widespread in Germany, party leaders have often formed boards of experts and advisors ("teams of experts", or Kompetenzteam, in CDU/CSU and SPD parlance; alternate "top team", or Spitzenteam, in Bündnis '90/Die Grünen parlance).
In Hungary, a shadow cabinet under the leadership of Klára Dobrev was established by the strongest opposition party, the Democratic Coalition, for the first time, in 2022.
[citation needed] In Turkey, the main opposition party, CHP, formed a shadow cabinet after the election of Özgür Özel as its leader, in 2023.