STUDY UNEQUAL DEMOCRACIES CROATIA: WHO DOES(NOT) HAVE A SEAT IN PARLIAMENT? Ivan Puh March 2024 This study examines the social composition of the Croatian parliament regarding gender, age, education level and social class. Women are underrepresented in the Croatian parliament. After the 2020 Croatian General Elections, women comprise one fifth of total number of MPs, which rose to one third after MP replacements. The youth is completely underrepresented. The highest level of homogeneity is observed at the level of education and social classes. About 80 per cent of MPs are highly educated and come from the upper service class, whereas the working class is underrepresented. Apart from un-representation and underrepresentation itself, these phenomena can lead towards missed policies and opportunities.

UNEQUAL DEMOCRACIES CROATIA: WHO DOES(NOT) HAVE A SEAT IN PARLIAMENT?

Content WHY SHOULD WE CARE ABOUT REPRESENTATION? 2 GENERAL OVERVIEW 3 THE UNREPRESENTED 4 WOMEN: MORE EDUCATED, LESS 5 THE TYPICAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASS OF A CROATIAN MP: THE HIGHER – THE BETTER 7 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 10 References  11

UNEQUAL DEMOCRACIES – CROATIA: WHO DOES(NOT) HAVE A SEAT IN PARLIAMENT? WHY SHOULD WE CARE ABOUT REPRESENTATION? The parliament, as the highest representative body in a democracy, should ideally be representative of the nation that elects its members. The very adjective“representative” 1 means that it should be typical of a certain group of people, which in the context of a parliament means that it should serve as a certain mirror of the nation. For this reason, an ideal parliament should represent the heterogeneity of the nation. In other words, parliaments should reflect diversity in terms of various demographic parameters such as gender, age, ethnicity, socio-economic background, and education(Malovi ć 2023). In other words, descriptive representation should be aspired to as much as possible. Apart from a certain idealism reflected in the previous part of this paragraph, representation also has its practical side. For instance, representation can increase public trust in the institution, i. e. citizens could identify with a member of parliament who shares their gender, age, level of education, profession, occupation, ethnicity, etc. In other words, there would be someone who represents their interests. Representation is also important for policy making because of the experience and knowledge of the problems of the part of society which the MP represents. Another important part of representation is to avoid the marginalization of certain demographic groups, namely women, the working class, national minorities, LGBTIQ people etc. Having a public figure from a marginalized group in parliament can also serve as an encouragement to participate in the public sphere. All in all, representation is not just symbolic. It is a tool to ensure that everyone’s voice is heard and that reallife experiences are present in policy and decision making – which should be the goal of any democracy. decision-making process. Studies have also shown that having direct experience, for example as a woman, a person of a certain age or a certain profession, is beneficial for the perception of political problems(Kitschelt / Rehm 2014). For the reasons previously stated, this analysis aims to examine the composition of the Croatian parliament in terms of age, gender, level of education and socioeconomic background in order to identify which groups are overrepresented, underrepresented, or even completely absent from the Croatian parliament. The reason behind this research is that representation equals impact, and, consequently, the absence of representation means that certain groups are left behind. Nevertheless, there is a belief in the Croatian society that only“the best” should have a seat in parliament.“The best” is supposed to mean respectable people with higher education and a“better” socio-economic background, probably based on the idea that people with higher education and who do not have to struggle economically would be better able to formulate policies and represent the people. However, recent studies have shown that a lack of representation means being left out of the parliamentary debate and 1 https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/representative_2 2

General overview GENERAL OVERVIEW The Croatian parliament is composed of 151 members of parliament(MPs). This study analyses the outgoing parliament which was elected in July 2020. The electoral system allocates 140 seats in parliament across 10 constituencies in the country, with an additional 11 seats reserved for national minorities(8) and for Croatian citizens living abroad (3). Data from the 2021 Croatian will be used to provide an overview for the purpose of representation in comparison of the composition of the parliament compared to the Croatian general population. Since the diaspora lives abroad and was not included in the 2021 Census data, only 148 seats will be analysed in this section. Such a comparison could provide an insight into representation of various social groups in the Croatian parliament. The examined age of members of parliament was examined at the time of the 2021 Croatian General Elections. Figure 1 The composition of the Croatian 2020-2024 parliament HSS IDS HSLS Fokus Reform. HNS-LD GLAS Centar SDP Socijald. SDSS Možemo! RF Nova ljevica 14 11 3 4 222 3 19 Non-affiliated Sabor 151 Zastupnic Croatian Parliament 151 MPs HDZ 62 HDS BzH HB OiP PH SsIP 2 4 5 7 Most DP Suverenisti 3

UNEQUAL DEMOCRACIES – CROATIA: WHO DOES(NOT) HAVE A SEAT IN PARLIAMENT? THE UNREPRESENTED YOUTH The first step of this analysis is to take a look at the age composition of the Croatian parliament. In Figure 2 shows that no individuals under the age of 30 were elected in the 2020 General Elections in Croatia. The youngest elected member of parliament was born in 1990 and was 30 years old on the day of the election. It is worth noting that the majority of the 2020–2024 Croatian parliament is composed of individuals aged 45–59, with almost 80 representatives. The neighbouring age groups are equally represented. Firstly, if we look into the 2021 Croatian Census data, the under-30 age group(based on Census data for citizens between the ages of 20 and 29 due to data availability, even though voting eligibility starts at the age of 18) comprises 428,072 people and was not adequately represented in the 2020 General Elections. Statistically, this age group – the young people often referred to as the future of the country – should ideally be represented by 25 members of parliament, which means they are currently underrepresented by 25 seats. This constitutes a representation crisis, which places young people as a top priority for potential affirmative action. Moreover, 755,277 Croatian citizens belong to the age group 30–44. Out of the total number of MPs after the 2020 General Elections, 35 belonged to the age group, which is slightly underrepresented by one seat compared to the ideal number of 44 members of parliament. However, the age group of 45–59, with a population of 804,100 according to census data, is overrepresented in the parliament. They should ideally be represented by 47 MPs, which is 30 MPs less than their representation in the 2020–2024 Croatian parliament. The final age group discussed is those aged 60–70, but considering the retirement age and available data, only this age group is analysed. According to the census, there are 567,875 people in this age group, which would mean that they are entitled to 33 seats in the ideal parliament. It can be stated that this age group was more or less fairly represented in the parliament with 36 seats. From the perspective of the political parties, as it can be seen in Figure 3, the centre-left and green parties have a tendency to send, in the Croatian context, younger MPs(age group 30–44). 36 per cent of centre-left MPs and 33 per cent of green MPs fall into this group. It is worth mentioning that the second best in this age group far-right political parties with 24 per cent MPs from this age group. Based on that, it could be concluded that the potential sources of rejuvenation of the Croatian parliament should come from the centre-left, green and far-right parties if the trend change, which seems unlikely in the time of the composition of this study. Figure 2 Ideal representation according to the 2021 Census Dobna skupina Current parliament* Age groups Seats Under 30 0 30–44 35 45–59 77 60 –70 36 *diaspora MPs not included Men 0 22 47 29 Women 0 13 30 7 Ideal representation Ideal Seats 25 44 47 33 Men 13 22 23 16 Women 12 22 24 17 underrepresentation(–) overrepresentation(+) total Men Women –25 –13 –12 –9 0 –9 30 24 6 3 13 –10 4

Women: more educated, less represented WOMEN: MORE EDUCATED, LESS REPRESENTED The Croatian Electoral Act prohibits based on constitutional rights any gender-based discrimination. To prevent gender-based discrimination in elections, the Act stipulates that the genders should be present relatively equal representation of genders, with a minimum ratio of 60:40 i. e., the underrepresented gender with at least 40 per cent. However, it does not mandate the use of the zip system, although some parties internally applied it during the 2020 general Elections, such as the centre-left, left and green parties. Based on the 2021 Croatian Census, the 2020–2024 Croatian parliament should ideally have had 75 female and 73 male members of parliament from the 11 national constituencies, excluding diaspora, since women comprise 51.83 per cent and men make up 48.71 per cent of the Croatian population. However, only 34 women were elected as MPs, which translates to 22.97 per cent out of the 148 nationally elected MPs. Following changes related to the resignation of elected MPs due to their incompatibility with other political functions, such as heading a ministry, the number of female MPs has risen to 50 by April 2024, when the parliament was dissolved. The final 33.11 per cent is equivalent to 33.78 per cent of female MPs, thus represents an improvement. At the same time, it suggests that political parties view women as substitutes for departing male MPs. Additionally, only one out of the five vice-Presidents of the Croatian parliament was female, and she came from the centre-left. Figure 3 illustrates that centre-left parties tend to achieve gender balance or a surplus of women. The green and left parties have 83 per cent women MPs, followed by centre-left parties with 46 per cent female MPs, meaning that applying the zip system proves to be a successful tool in achieving gender balance. On the other hand, far-right parties stand as worst in achieving gender balance with just 14 per cent of female MPs. By looking into the age structure of women and party affiliation together, it is evident that the centre-left, green and left parties tend to send younger women to parliament. Based on this, a woman has more chances to be elected if she is on the ballots of the centre-left, green and left parties, and that these parties are more willing to nominate a younger woman. If the trends change, young female MPs(under 30 years old) should be elected from those parties. Figure 3 Share of women across age and party families Other Far Left& Green Center-left Liberals Center-right Far Right Total Total MPs Women MPs Share of women 19 7 37% 6 5 83% 28 13 46% 13 4 31% 61 18 30% 21 3 14% 148 50 Women under 30 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Women 30–44 29% 40% 46% 0% 22% 0% Women 45–59 71% 40% 46% 75% 61% 100% Women 60+ 0% 20% 8% 25% 17% 0% 5

UNEQUAL DEMOCRACIES – CROATIA: WHO DOES(NOT) HAVE A SEAT IN PARLIAMENT? Figure 4 Composition of parliament according to gender and education Master’s degree: 57 PhD degree: 18 PhD degree: 11 Bachelor’s degree: 11 Non tertiary higher education: 1 Secondary school degree: 12 Men: Blue Women: Red Master’s degree: 31 Bachelor’s degree: 2 Secondary school degree: 5 Regarding the level of education, the 2020–2024 Croatian parliament was representative of a so-called“diploma democracy”(Bovens/ Wille 2017). In general, only 17 (11 per cent) of MPs have not gained a higher education degree(ISCED 3), while 88 per cent of them have(ISCED 6-8) and one MP has completed a post-secondary non-tertiary education cycle(ISCED 5). More specifically, Figure 5 shows that 13 MPs(9 per cent) have a bachelor’s degree, 88 MPs(59 per cent) have a master’s degree and 29 MPs (20 per cent) have a PhD or equivalent. As expected, in this inflation of academic degrees, women tend to be better educated on average than men. In terms of tertiary education, 63 per cent of women MPs have a master’s degree or equivalent, which is 6 percentage points more than men. Also, 22 per cent when it comes to PhD or equivalent, which is 4 percentage points more than men. 4 per cent of female MPs have obtained a bachelor’s degree or equivalent in comparison to 11 per cent of men, which leads to the conclusion that male candidates are more likely to be “pardoned” for having a lower level of education. All in all, it is evident that a woman must be more educated than a man in order to be competitive for being elected into the Croatian parliament. 6

The typical occupational class of a Croatian MP: the higher – the better THE TYPICAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASS OF A CROATIAN MP: THE HIGHER – THE BETTER Similar to the educational level, Croatian MPs tend to come from higher occupational classes. Their occupational background before entering parliament was surveyed and classified according to the Oesch class scheme, as shown in Figure 5. According to this class scheme, the members of the Croatian parliament in 2020–2024 mostly come from the upper service class(118 MPs). There are 19 MPs from the lower service class and two small business owners. As far as the working class is concerned, there are only 10 representatives in the 2020–2024 Croatian parliament. As the following outlines in detail, some trends can be observed. The first trend is the under-representation of the working class(Figures 6 and 7). No political party currently represents the working class. All four ideological groups – left and centre-left, centre, centre-right and far-right – have a similar distribution of MPs’ occupations before entering parliament, with most working-class MPs coming from the left and centre-left. Also, unskilled workers were not represented(Figure 8). However, it can also be seen in the data that centre-left, green and left parties are usually the sources of the small pool of working-class MPs. It is also worth emphasising that the occupational composition of the 2020–2024 Croatian ParliaFigure 5 The Oesch Social Class Classification scheme EMPLOYEES SELF-EMPLOYED Administrative work logic Upper service class Higher-grade managers accountants, senior ministry officials, advertising professionals Interpersonal work logic Technical work logic Independent work logic Sociocultural experts secondary school teachers, physicians, university teachers Technical experts engineers, IT experts Independent professions lawyers, practicing physicians, independent consultants Large employers managers, business owners, farmers Lower-grade service class Lower-grade managers skilled administrative staff, skilled commercial professions Sociocultural professions social workers, elementary school teachers Technical semi-professions skilled workers in engineering professions, medical technicians Small business owners with employees Working class Skilled clerks skilled secretaries, warehouse clerks Skilled service providers salespersons, preschool teachers, practical nurses Skilled crafts workers electricians, building electricians Small business owners without employees Routine office clerks call-centre agents Routine service providers bartenders, cleaning professions, security professions Routine skilled workers machinery operators, freight professions 7

UNEQUAL DEMOCRACIES – CROATIA: WHO DOES(NOT) HAVE A SEAT IN PARLIAMENT? Upper service class Lower grade service class Figure 6 The composition of parliament according to social classes Small business owners Working class 118 MPs(80%) 18 MPs(12%) 2 MPs(1%) 10 MPs(7%) Upper service class Lower grade service class Small business owners Working class Upper service class Lower grade service class 19 MPs 6 MPs 28 MPs 100% Figure 7 The soci U U al p p c p p la e e s r r s s s c e e o r r m v v i p i c c o e e s c i c t l l i a a o s s n s s across pa L L r o o ty w w f e e a r m r g g il r r ie a a s d d e e s s e e r r v v i i c c e e c c l l a a s s s s 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 % % % 80% 1 1 9 9 M M P P s s 16% 6 6 MPs 17% 28 MPs 14% 8 8 0 0 % % 80% 60% 6 6 0 0 % % 60% 40% 4 4 0 0 % % 26% 58% 33% 50% 4% 11% 71% 40% 20% 2 2 0 0 % % Small business owners 13 MPs 61 MPs Skilled workers 21 MPs S S m m a a l l l l b b u u s s i i n n e e s s s s o o w w n n e er r s s 13 MPs 15% 61 MPs 3% 8% 85% 89% S S k k i i l l l l e e d d w w o o r r k k e e r r s s 21 MPs 5% 5% 90% 20% 0 0 0 % % % Non-affiliated Greens& & L L e e f f t t C C e e n n t t r r e e l l e e f f t t L L i i b b e e r r a a l l C C e e n n t t r r e e r r i i g g h h t t F F a a r r r r i i g g h h t t P P a a r r t t i i e e s s g g r r o o u u p p e e d d b b y y p p o o l l i i t t i i c c a a l l a a f f f f i i l l i i a a t t i i o o n n 0% Upper service class Lower grade service class Non-affiliated Greens& Left Centre-left Small business owners Skilled workers Liberal Centre-right Far-right 100% 19 MPs 6 MPs 28 MPs 13 MPs Parties grouped by political affiliation 61 MPs 21 MPs 8

The typical occupational class of a Croatian MP: the higher – the better Mayors or deputies Ministers or deputies County prefects or deputies Managers The share of care Figure 8 O er t p h o e l r iticians a U m n o i n v g e u rs p i p t e y r t s e er a v c ic h e e c r la s s a s n M d Ps researchers Medical doctors Lawyers 32 6 9 16 33 13 5 3 M M a a y y o o r r s s o o r r d d e e p p u u t t i i e e s s M M i i n n i i s s t t e e r r s s o o r r d d e e p p u u t t i i e e s s C C o o u u n n t t y y p p r r e e f f e e c c t t s s o o r r d d e e p p u u t t i i e e s s M M a a n n a a g g e e r r s s Mayor O s t o h r e d r eputie U s nivers M ity in t i e st a e c r h s e o rs r d an ep d u r t e i s e e s arche C rs ounty M pr e e d fe ic c a t l s d o o r c d to e r p s uties Law M ye a r n s agers O O t t h h e e r r U U n n i i v v e e r r s s i i t t y y t t e e a a c c h h e e r r s s a a n n d d r r e e s s e e a a r r c c h h e e r r s s M M e e d d i i c c a a l l d d o o c c t t o o r r s s L L a a w w y y e e r r s s ment does not represent certain occupations, such as practical nurses(1 MP) and shop assistants(0 MPs), which were labelled as essential workers during the ­COVID-19 6 pandemic 6 6 and measures, during which this parliame 9 nt was elected. There are also no representatives of 9 9 platform workers and migrant workers, who tend to work in skilled occupations. Moreover, it is interesting to look at the professional upper service occupational class as 3 3 3 3 such(Figure 8). Out of 118 33 members of the upper service class, 32 can be described as managers of some kind, mostly from public institutions, including education and hospital managers – i. e., the institutions where politics could have a say in the appointment of managers. The third trend is that that 33 MPs are or were mayors and deputy mayors, and nine were former ministers and deputy ministers before entering parliament. In addition, six MPs served as state prefects or their deputies before entering parliament. There may be two possible reasons for this. The first reason for putting local and regional political office holders on the parliamentary ballot paper would be visibility, which leads to electability and serves as“bait” for (preferential) votes in the general elections. This leads to the conclusion that visibility through holding a position in a local and regional executive could be seen as a plus in terms of competitiveness for winning seats in parliament. However, it is important to emphasise that such a practice deprives other under-represented demographic groups(women, young people, the working class, people without tertiary education, etc.) of representation. The second reason could be that the parties see parliament as a reward or compensation system 32 32 for 3 ( 2 former) political office holders. In addition, there were 79 MPs who could be classified as career politicians on the 1 1 6 6 basis of certain criteria: a parliamen16 tary career of at least ten years, having held political office at local, regional or national level before and/or during their term of office, or a combination of these. Thus. This was based on the definition of a 13 13 c 13 areer politician as someone who has any experience of their own with a professional working life above and beyond w 5 orking in a party or as a political staffer and are at the 5 5 same time highly dependent 3 3 on a successful political career(O’ 3 Grady 2019). Therefore, a typical Croatian career politician is male(64 men compared to 15 women), in the 45–59 age group(41 MPs), has a Master’s degree or equivalent(51), in one of these three fields: economics(14 MPs), technical engineering of some kind(14) or law(10). Prior to entering the parliament, they held was a political office, usually that of mayor(30), and belong to a centre-right party(42). 9

UNEQUAL DEMOCRACIES – CROATIA: WHO DOES(NOT) HAVE A SEAT IN PARLIAMENT? CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Women are underrepresented in the Croatian parliament despite being better educated. They are also less likely to fit into patterns of political careerism, whether that means rising from the local or regional level or descending from a national-level executive function. They are also more likely to be elected if they are nominated by a progressive political party. At the same time, there were people under the age of 30 who were completely absent from the 2020–2024 Croatian parliament. The age group 30–44 is present, yet underrepresented, whereas the age group 45–59 is overrepresented according to the 2021 Census. Moreover, the working class is also underrepresented in the Croatian parliament. – institutionalise measures such as the zip system in caucuses for all types of elections(intraparty, local, national and European) – establish a system of accountability in the event of noncompliance with the measures taken to ensure adequate representation – invest in women and young people as future politicians through intraparty education programmes and training – introduce a genderbalanced dual leadership of the political party – continue to work on an atmosphere of inclusion and mutual respect within the political party. An ideal or perfect parliament has never been achieved and probably never will be. However, the greater the discrepancies between the parliament and the population of its country, the greater will be the differences, the missed opportunities for societal improvement, and the space for further discrimination and mistrust between the parliament as an institution and the general public. Therefore, certain measures and activities should be implemented in order to achieve a better descriptive representation within the Croatian parliament, especially when it comes to women, young people and the working class (skilled and unskilled workers) on three levels: party level, policy level and campaign level. MEASURES AT THE POLICY LEVEL – introduce the zip system for all lists in the Electoral Act, as well as genderbalance in the leading positions on the list according to a 60:40 ratio, with hefty fines for parties and lists which violate this law – introduce a youth quota in the Electoral Act – amend the Electoral Act in a way that the underrepresented gender must have 40 per cent of MPs – more determined fight against all forms of genderbased discrimination(e. g. the pay gap). MEASURES AT THE CAMPAIGN LEVEL MEASURES AT THE PARTY LEVEL – set a clear direction towards gender balance within the party and promote the empowerment of women and of all age groups, in order to achieve a descriptive representation of the party itself – establish a women’s, youth and students’ organization within the political party to promote specific messages, develop groupspecific policies and serve as a place of building public visibility regarding the demographic group and its specific needs – initiate a discussion on descriptive representation within the party, with partners such as NGOs, trade unions, and other political parties, to promote equality and the need for representation – as a political party, put underrepresented groups at the forefront of candidate campaigns – promote gender equality in communication with the general public and in public spaces, such as protests and gatherings etc. – launch publicity campaigns(banners, traditional media, social media …). 10

REFERENCES Bovens, Mark A. P./ Wille, Anchrit(2017): Diploma Democracy: The Rise of Political Meritocracy, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Kitschelt, Herbert/ Rehm, Philipp(2014): Occupations as a Site of Political Preference Formation, in: Comparative Political Studies 47(12), pp. 1670–1706. Malovi ć , Nenad(2023): Problem zapadnoga društva prema Ericu Voegelinu, in Svjedok 30(1), pp. 81–98. O’Grady, Tom(2019): Careerists Versus Coal-Miners: Welfare Reforms and the Substantive Representation of Social Groups in the British Labour Party, in Comparative Political Studies 52(4), pp. 544–578. Oesch, Daniel(2006): Redrawing the Class Map: Stratification and institutions in Britain, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland, Houndmills/ Basingstoke/ Hampshire/ New York: Palgrave Macmillan. REFERENCES 11

IMPRINT ABOUT THE AUTHOR IMPRINT Ivan Puh is a translator and a cognitive linguist who has acquired his education at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Zagreb University. He has done research on political discourse from a cognitive-linguistic perspective. He has attended several academies of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Croatia and SEE. As an activist in the international social democratic youth associations, he has covered issues such as environmental protection, LGBTIQ rights and women’s rights. Publisher: FES Regional Office for International Cooperation Democracy of the Future Reichsratsstr. 13/5 A-1010 Vienna Responsibility for content: Johanna Lutz| Director, Democracy of the Future Phone:+43 1 890 3811 301 X:@FES_Democracy democracy.fes.de Contact/ Orders: democracy.vienna@fes.de Design: pertext, Berlin| www.pertext.de The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung(FES) or of the organization for which the author works. Commercial use of media published by the FES is not permitted without the written consent of the FES. Publications by the FES may not be used for electioneering purposes. ISBN 978-3-98628-480-0 © 2024 ABOUT UNEQUAL DEMOCRACIES Unequal Democracies is a project by FES Democracy of the Future. The main goal is to promote comparative understanding of why inequality in voting and other democratic processes hurts our democracies. In country reports we provide country-specific analyses about the state of particular national contexts with the aim to develop and discuss political recommendations for decision-makers. More information at: https://democracy.fes.de/topics/inequality-democracy M

CROATIA: WHO DOES(NOT) HAVE A SEAT IN PARLIAMENT? The parliament as the most representative the body in a democracy should, ideally, represent the people who elects it. Representativeness should imply that the parliament reflects the social diversity in demographic parameters such as gender, age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and education. The pursuit of descriptive representation not only increases citizens’; trust in institutions, but also brings potential benefits in terms of policy making and decision making because the experience of various social groups reflect different perspectives and needs of different social groups. The analysis of the 2020–2024 Croatian parliament showed deficiencies in the representation of different demographic groups; namely women, young people, persons without university education and the working class. People under 30 were not represented in that at all, while representation increases with age. Women, although their number increased compared to the 2016 elections, had a low representation despite a higher level of education. Overall, here is a visible increase in the number of women because of substitutions due to switching seats. Although this “fixes“; the number of women in the parliament, it also indicates a woman is seen as a reserve player ready to step in for a man in the starting lineup. Working class and people with lower level of education were also underrepresented. In order to achieve greater descriptive representation in the Croatian parliament, it is necessary is to take measures at different levels. At the party level, parties should promote gender equality within their ranks and promote underrepresented groups such as women, youth and the working class. Also, it is important to ensure that party policies take account of the demographic diversity. Moreover, it is important to encourage active participation of citizens in the political process and promote inclusive policies which will allow everyone to feel represented and included. Although the ideal parliament may never be achieved, it is important to work on reducing discrepancies between MPs and the population. Not only will this ensure greater legitimacy of the very parliament and increase trust in the institutions, but will also ensure that policies are created in a way which reflects the needs and perspectives of all citizens.