## A Diploma Does Not Define a Person That is to say, back then, no one even thought that a future deputy might not have even a technical or at least secondary (school) education! Now, both officially unemployed individuals and those with an education of 9 grades are rushing into the country's parliament. Of course, some will insist that it is not the diploma that determines a person's competence, and that parliament is, in a way, a mirror of society, a cross-section of it, and people from different social strata should be represented... And yet, those who think so should ask themselves one question: what do we actually want from the Saeima, from our representatives in parliament? If it is simply for them to be there, receive a good salary, sit around, and occasionally express their position from the parliamentary podium, then perhaps it is indeed possible to elect people to the Saeima "regardless" of whether they have a diploma or even a school certificate. ## What Cashier Doesn’t Dream of Becoming a Deputy But it should be remembered that the parliament, especially in Latvia, as a parliamentary republic where the Saeima holds full power, is the highest legislative body in the country. It is the parliament that passes the laws by which we all live, it is the parliament that approves the government and, by the way, elects the head of state. And for working in parliament, it is desirable to have both education and life experience, and to have achieved something in this life! Meanwhile, in the elections to this Saeima, alongside "openly" unemployed individuals, there are also de facto unemployed individuals who mask their lack of at least a legal source of income with claims of being members of various public organizations or, for example, heading the ethics committee in their party. It is obvious to everyone that this, to speak diplomatically, is volunteer work or a hobby — for work, so to speak, in a society of butterfly enthusiasts or philatelists, no salary is paid. Representatives of interesting but very distant professions (positions) from legislative activity are also striving to get into the Saeima — warehouse workers, suppliers, cashiers in supermarkets, gas workers, technologists, cleaners, hairdressers and cosmetologists, drivers and tractor drivers, animal capture specialists, and assistants to real estate appraisers. There are also housewives, tattoo artists, locksmiths, and auto mechanics... ## Choose Me! And yet, to be fair, it should be noted that, according to statistics, the majority of candidates for deputies in the elections on October 3 are people with higher education. This accounts for 78.7% (provided that the candidates for deputies have provided accurate information — previous elections have shown that anything can happen!). 19.6% of candidates have secondary education, and another 1.7% have basic education (9 grades). Again, it is up to the voter to decide whom they want to see as their representative in the Saeima. Moreover, voters now have the opportunity to learn not only about the education and workplace of the candidate for deputy but also about their property (material) situation — the publicly available questionnaire contains information about the presence (or absence) of real estate, vehicles, cash and non-cash savings, as well as debts. As they say, read, analyze, and decide!