Only 10% of current politicians in Spain are under 30 years old, according to a study

Only one in ten politicians is under 30 years old in Spain, including members of parliaments and regional and national governments, according to a study by the consulting firm beBartlet, which also highlights that millennials (under 42 years of age) are dedicated to issues of youth, education and ecological transition, and most of them come to politics having a professional career on the side. Specifically, the average age of the new political generations is currently 38 years old, while those under 28, those belonging to what is known as the ‘zeta’ generation, make up only 7% of the political class. This is stated in the third report presented by the beBartlet organization on emerging leadership in Spain, which has been carried out by analyzing more than 7,000 political profiles at the national, regional, local and European level after the new legislatures that triggered the general and regional elections. and municipal last year 2023. The ‘millennial’ generation (those born between 1981 to 1993 and who came of age at the turn of the century) and the ‘zeta’ generation (the next one) represent around 29% of the population in Spain and yet their representation in Congress is 21%, in the Senate they remain at 10%. Furthermore, their political careers last less and less and are based on the logic of intermittency, that is, they enter and leave the political front line over the years. WHAT ARE THE NEW POLITICIANS LIKE? According to the report collected by Europa Press, 81% of politicians belonging to the ‘millennial’ and ‘zeta’ generations have university studies and at least 74% of them have had a professional career outside of politics before dedicating themselves to it. . Only 26% have dedicated their entire professional career to political and party life. Furthermore, these new generations enter politics equally at all institutional and territorial levels, with 48% women and 52% men. Yes, there are differences when it comes to the topics they address during their political career. Women are more focused on youth issues (21%), equality (20%) or social services (16%), while men are in charge of issues related to ecological transition (21%), sports (14 %) or mobility (12%). In fact, according to the report, only 5% of ‘millennial’ or ‘zeta’ men carry equality issues. ONLY FIVE ‘MILLENIAL’ MINISTERS AND THREE AUTONOMOUS PRESIDENTS The underrepresentation of the ‘millennial’ and ‘zeta’ generations is reflected in many areas of current politics, according to beBartlet. In the Government there are only five ministers under 43 years old), and in the 17 communities there are only three ‘millennial’ regional presidents: the Catalan Pere Aragonés (41 years old), the Balearic Marga Prohens (41 years old) and the Murcian Fernando López Miras (40 years old) In national politics, the party with the most ‘millennial’ or ‘zeta’ public representatives is Sumar, with 48% of its leaders. Although in Congress it is the PSOE that holds the leadership with 35% of its deputies within these age ranges, compared to the 1% held by the nationalist parties. And although the left surpasses the right in the representation of these generations, it is the PP that is at the head of the female presence, since that seven out of every ten ‘millennial’ deputies in Congress are women. At the regional level, 24% of regional deputies are under 42 years old, but only 13% of regional councilors belong to the ‘millennial’ and ‘generations’. zeta’. Currently, the youngest leader in our country is the mayor of Portbou (Girona) at 19 years old. And if we open the spectrum and look at the Spanish representatives of the European Parliament, only 9 of the 54 that Spain currently has are ‘millennials’, with the socialist Alicia Homs being the youngest MEP, at 30 years old.