Assembly acts as breeding ground for top politicians

Date: 05/02/04

AMONG some of the more colourful candidates for June's European elections are German-born porn star Dolly Buster, set to stand in the Czech Republic, and Vladimir Remek, the country's first astronaut and now a commercial officer at the Czech embassy in Moscow.

In Malta, Louis Grech, a former chairman of Air Malta, is a Labour Party contender.

However, far from being a gathering of quirky politicians, the Parliament is also a breeding ground for future leaders.

Twenty-one MEPs have become government leaders or cabinet members since 1979, with seven from the current legislature leaving for top jobs at home.

Silvio Berlusconi became prime minister of Italy in 2001, with Gianfranco Fini as his deputy.

Spanish conservative Ana Palacio became foreign minister in 2002, and Miguel Arias Cañete was appointed minister of agriculture, fisheries and alimentation in 2000.

France's Nicole Fontaine, a former Parliament president, became industry minister in Jean-Pierre Raffarin's government in 2002. Bertel Haarder, a Danish Liberal, was appointed Europe minister in 2001, while Carlos Costa Neves landed the same post in Portugal in 2002.

Other current ministers who have been recruited from among former MEPs' ranks include Lydie Polfer, Luxembourg, Annemie Neyts, Europe minister in Belgium and Geoff Hoon, UK defence secretary.

Among the current crop, five are former heads of state and government - Michel Rocard of France, Mario Soares (Portugal), Jacques Santer (Luxembourg), Luigi Ciriaco De Mita (Italy) and Hans Modrow (former East Germany). In addition, 64 others have previously held ministerial posts.

One former Commission president (Santer again) and two ex-commissioners, Italian Emma Bonino and Belgium's Willy de Clerq, have also entered Parliament.

Other big names in the present legislature include France's Catherine Lalumière, a former secretary-general of the Council of Europe; Belgian Michel Hansenne, former director-general of the International Labour Office in Geneva, and Swede Anders Wijkman, a former UN deputy secretary-general.

The European Parliament is a breeding ground for future leaders. Twenty-one MEPs have become government leaders or cabinet members since 1979, with seven from the current legislature departing for top jobs in their home countries.