Parlamentarier als Beruf

The fact that politics has become a profession is inferred in the theoretical part of this work and substantiated in the empirical part with extensive data. Within its institutional framework, political professionalisation has led to the social figure of the professional politician. From the author's point of view, it is remarkable that the trend towards this professionalisation has not led to significant changes in the recruitment patterns and career paths of members of parliament. On the contrary, Herzog’s career types still prove valid today and have only had to be moderately refined. This shows an astonishing continuity in the formation of political elites. Germany’s very stable institutional framework, which determines access to and the attractiveness of political careers, has obviously also led to the stabilisation of career types.