A recent study by Wagner and Ennser-Jedenastik provides a detailed analysis to address this gap and better understand the state of workers’ descriptive representation. The authors analyzed the complete class biographies of approximately 2000 government ministers who held office in eight European democracies between 1945 and 2020.
By documenting all available occupational episodes of individual ministers in sequential order as well as their parents’ professions, the authors broaden the hitherto relatively narrow definitions of working-class representation and provide insight into the intersection of social mobility and careers in politics.
Wagner and Ennser-Jedenastik argue that the transition from working-class into professional politics requires not only the horizontal move into politics but also a vertical move into the upper class. Thus, the authors distinguish between three possible pathways from the working class into politics: Upward social mobility outside of, while in, or through politics.
Outside of politics
Ministers with a working-class background may have experienced upward social mobility before entering politics, i.e., through education or occupational advancement. Norbert Rüttgers' class biography exemplifies this pathway: Born the son of an electrician, Rüttgers studied law after school and joined the CDU while at university. His upward mobility thus preceded his entry into politics.
While in politics
Another possible path is for ministers to experience upward mobility while in politics, for reasons unrelated to their political activity. The authors provide Edelgard Buhlmahn’s career as an example: The German minister grew up in the working class and joined the SPD while still in school. Even though she went to university after school, this upward mobility followed her entry into politics.
Through politics
Ministers who experienced upward mobility through politics, entered politics while still part of the working class and moved up the ranks of the institution. Minister Walter Arendt, for example, was born the son of a coal miner and pursued the same profession. After joining the SPD and miners’ union, he took up a job with the union and would later be appointed minister.
According to the authors, the different pathways may indicate varying degrees of ideological linkage between the respective party and the working class. In the case of upward mobility outside of politics, the individuals may update their economic ideologies and may not be representing working-class interests anymore once entering politics. Further, prevalent recruitment of workers only after they have experienced upward mobility may highlight a weak institutional link and barriers to entering politics for working-class individuals. Conversely, recruitment of individuals directly from the working class may indicate a strong linkage – even more so when the individual experienced their upward mobility through their political engagement.
Findings
The study confirms the suspected downward trend in workers’ descriptive representation. While previous studies have attributed this shift to a weakening link between the Social Democrats and the working class, Wagner and Ennser-Jedenastik find that the decline is present for all parties. However, their analysis reveals that the drivers of weakening workers’ descriptive representation differ along party lines.
For ministers with working-class backgrounds in non-Social Democratic parties, mobility outside politics has always been the most common path. The decline in workers’ representation was hence overwhelmingly driven by the replacement of those individuals with non-working-class individuals. The authors explain that this may be attributed to broader societal shifts (e.g., deindustrialization) as well as a growing ideological and institutional disconnect with the working class.
Social Democratic parties, on the other hand, primarily experienced decreases in the “through” and “while in” politics pathways. In the post-war period, half of Social Democratic ministers entered politics directly from the working class but that share has since dropped to merely 20%. The “outside” path, interestingly, remained stable with working-class individuals who experienced upward mobility still primarily choosing to enter politics through the Social Democrats. Nevertheless, the significant decrease in direct recruitment from the working class indicates a weakening institutional linkage.
As Wagner and Ennser-Jedenastik explain, these trends have significant ramifications for class representation. Upwardly mobile people with a working-class background might update their ideology and fail to represent working-class ideologies. Further, achieving upward mobility through education or occupational advancement may reinforce meritocratic views. Thus, the authors call for further research into the relation between descriptive, substantive, and symbolic representation for different pathways from the working class to professional politics.
(Hannah Segers, 22.01.2026)
