Why Spanish citizens are setting their sights on the political class

A recent survey carried out by the CIS Sociological Research Center shows that Spaniards see politicians as their third most important concern, after unemployment and the economic crisis. The 15-M movement has captured the imagination of an increasingly disenchanted electorate, rallying support around the cause of electoral reform, and an end to the privileges enjoyed by our representatives.

After more than three decades, the pro-democracy movement says that Spain's voting and representation procedures are in need of a major overhaul. This is the only way, says the 15-M platform, of tackling unemployment, better working conditions, improved public spending, and imposing a heavier tax burden on the banks.

There is growing mistrust toward the political class, as well as Spain's democracy

"New politicians lack any real experience of the world outside party politics"

The CIS survey shows that perceptions that the government has mishandled the crisis, while the opposition is mired in corruption scandals, is leading to growing mistrust toward the political class as a whole, and in disenchantment with Spain's democracy.

The experts agree that Spain's politicians need to take action to improve their credibility and standing among an electorate that sees them as a privileged minority. The way to do this is to introduce greater transparency and accountability: the 15-M platform is calling for parliamentary immunity to be lifted in corruption cases, for lawmakers to publicly declare their income, and for limits to be imposed on the number of appointments of unelected officials to senior public posts.

Ángel Valencia, a professor of political science at the University of Málaga, says that a new class of "professional" politicians has emerged over the last two decades. He would like to see a return to the more civic-minded politicians seen in the early years of Spain's transition to democracy. "The new politicians are forged in the parties; they lack any real experience of the world outside party politics," he says.

"The electorate wants to see greater transparency regarding politicians' wages," says Xavier Coller, a sociologist and specialist on political elites at the Pablo de Olavide University in Seville. "But we tend to forget that salaries are published, and anybody can look them up."

Are Spanish politicians overpaid? Compared to members of the European Parliament, who enjoy lavish expenses, assistants and travel first class, probably not. And compared with CEOs in the private sector, even less so.

The basic starting salary of a member of the Spanish Congress is 3,100 euroa month, with up to 1,800 euroadded in traveling expenses for those who live outside Madrid. In France, the figure is 7,000 euro, to which a further 6,000 eurocan be added in expenses. In Italy, the number rises to 10,000 euro a month, and in Germany, just under 8,000 euro. But it is also worth bearing in mind that the average annual salary in Germany is 42,400 euro, while in Spain it is just 23,200 euro.

The 15-M movement has been sharply critical of politicians' salaries, along with their pension model, which in theory allows them to retire on a full pension after just seven years of service.

Political commentator and academic Joan Subirats says that politicians should have the same pension rights as everybody else, "and the right to unemployment benefit," that they shouldn't travel in business class, nor enjoy parliamentary immunity.

But the wages earned by Spain's parliamentarians are of less concern than the pay packets that many mayors award themselves, often far higher than even the prime minister's salary. They also pay substantial wages to their retinue of advisors and consultants.

Ángel Valencia has no problem with paying public officials well, as long as their accounts are open to scrutiny. "Those who serve in government should be well paid. They should be seen to enjoy a certain status. But for such a system to work means high levels of ethics in public life. We need to cultivate a different mentality on the part of our leaders. We need to show that public officials have nothing to hide, and that they have not gone into politics or administration for personal financial gain."

The main political parties seem to be getting the message, saying that they want deputies' bank accounts to be open to scrutiny, along with them having to make regular statements regarding their activities outside of public office. A whole range of initiatives are in the pipeline to regulate pay, and to debate parliamentarians' privileges.

The electorate's largely negative perception of politicians is not necessarily shared by academics and pundits. Xavier Coller distinguishes between two types of politician: those who are appointed and those who are elected. The latter (deputies, senators, mayors and councilors) have fewer prerogatives compared with the former (ministers, advisors and senior civil servants). "Privileges are linked to the post. Another issue is that they have access to privileged information the public does not," he warns. If, for example, a mayor or town planning officer has information about land that is to be rezoned, that privilege should be seen as the opportunity to commit a crime. And if a crime is committed, then sanctions must be applied.

Members of parliament are not able to claim unemployment benefit because they do not contribute to the Social Security system. Instead, they are paid compensation of one month for every year in office, up to a maximum of 24 months. Recently passed labor reforms reduced the amount that workers could receive to 20 days per year. Some pressure groups are saying that lawmakers should only receive the compensation if they actually find themselves unemployed.

"There are a great many grey areas here that can easily be interpreted as the misuse of privileges," says Collar, pointing out that parliamentarians could use certain information to the benefit of those outside the Congressional sphere - lawyers, for example. "Unless we toughen up the legislation on conflicts of interest, this is always going to be difficult to control," he says.

The nub of the issue regarding what our political representatives earn is whether the job they do is worth the salary they are paid. In the United States and the United Kingdom, for example, there is far more scrutiny of lawmakers' attendance records. The constituency system means that an MP or Congress member is seen as the representative of a particular area and is directly accountable to the electorate. In the UK, MPs have an office in their constituency that they must attend at weekends, while in the United States, Congress members must be available to their constituents in the state capitol. US politicians are also constantly under siege from lobbies and special-interest groups who keep them in check, reminding them how they have voted over the years. This, says Collar, acts as a control mechanism for the electorate.

Collar says that in societies "with a longer tradition of civic responsibility, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, politicians are subject to greater scrutiny. Representation is seen as a more personal business."

Felipe González and José María Aznar, former prime ministers of Spain, both have state pensions of around 80,000 euroa year, and have been signed up by Gas Natural and Endesa, respectively, as advisors. Aznar earns 200,000 euroa year, and González 126,000 euro. But Ángel Valencia sees no conflict of interest in these cases. "They are important public figures and they should obviously have official cars, bodyguards and a pension. They remain in the public eye. That said, they must be accountable, but it is only reasonable that they charge more for their public appearances than a university lecturer," he says.

If the way that Spain's public institutions work is to be overhauled, and the country's politicians made more accountable, says Joan Subirats, then the best way for that to happen is through public initiatives, something that Spain has yet to witness, despite almost four decades of democracy.