European elections: Italy's aging MEPs

The online portal La Voce writes that judging by the composition of the previous Italian contingent of MEPs, one could easily get the impression that the country's representatives to the European Parliament are all well past their prime: "Well-paid, idle, male, advanced in age, more loyal to their party than to their country. ... The personal data, political experience and behavioural patterns of our MEPs all seem to confirm the widespread opinion that the European elections are a sort of luxury retirement plan, a sort of elephants' graveyard. ... That may be due to the conception that the European Parliament plays a subordinate role to the Council of the European Union (Council of Ministers). This idea is obsolete, because Parliament's institutional role has grown over time. ... Shouldn't we use the EU Parliament as a practical test for young and promising politicians like other countries do, instead of a luxury nursing home?"

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