Extract from "Political Parties in the European Union."
Simon Hix and Christopher Lord. pg82-3
|
PROFESSIONAL /SECTORAL BACKGROUNDS |
|
Education / Academic |
Law |
Media |
Business |
Agric |
Public Official |
Medical/ Welfare |
Engineer |
Manual |
| ERA |
3 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
|
|
3 |
|
|
| EN |
2 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
|
|
|
| ELDR |
6 |
9 |
2 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
|
2 |
|
| FE |
4 |
3 |
4 |
8 |
|
|
32 |
|
|
| UEL |
8 |
1 |
4 |
|
1 |
1 |
13 |
1 |
2 |
| EPP |
32 |
27 |
12 |
19 |
15 |
14 |
7 |
9 |
|
| PSE |
55 |
15 |
19 |
10 |
1 |
14 |
1 |
12 |
12 |
| UPE |
5 |
2 |
2 |
|
3 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
| V |
7 |
2 |
1 |
|
3 |
|
|
|
|
The EP is overwhelmingly professional and middle-class. In fact, just a
handful of professions account for almost all of its membership. On the other
hand, there are clear differences between the groups in the first-hand
understanding of economy and society that their MEPs bring to the task of
representation. The few MEPs who have experience as manual workers are
concentrated in the PES and the UEL. Business is best represented in the EPP,
the ELDR and Forza, though it is not entirely absent from the PES. Agriculture
is surprisingly narrowly concentrated on the Liberals and the parties of the
right - the EPP, the UPE and the EN, with very littie representation in the PES.
The PES, the UEL, and the Greens - all parties of the left- recruit
disproportionately from teachers and academics.