Professionalization and parliamentary careers

This chapter analyzes the degree of professionalization, the career paths and the future career aspirations of representatives in the Spanish parliament and in the autonomous parliaments. First, we find that acting as a full-time representative is the rule rather than the exception among legislators from all territorial levels. Second, municipal politics appears as the usual starting point of political careers. Third, in most autonomous communities, these career paths show a territorial hierarchy and far more representatives move from the autonomous parliament to the Spanish parliament than the other way around. However, in territories with distinct party systems, the career paths of Spanish parliament and autonomous parliament representatives do not show a territorial hierarchy but territorial specialization