Spain’s political class faces a credentials crisis

What began as a single admission of academic misrepresentation has cascaded into a political reckoning in Spain.

In recent weeks, a string of Spanish politicians from across the ideological spectrum have been forced to revise – or retract entirely – their academic qualifications. While the scandals have shocked the public, some scholars argue that the issue reflects deeper structural problems in Spain’s political culture, educational system, and labour market.

At the heart of the current controversy is Noelia Núñez, a prominent figure in the conservative Partido Popular (PP) and a rising star in national politics. In July, Núñez admitted that she never completed her double degree in law and public administration, despite having claimed so in official biographies.

Her resignation, swift and unusually contrite by Spanish political standards, triggered a domino effect. “I apologise to anyone who feels disappointed, but I also believe it’s not enough to say sorry,” she said.

Since Núñez’s departure, at least half a dozen other politicians have followed suit, either correcting their official résumés or stepping down entirely.

Among them:

• Ana Millán, a senior official in Madrid’s PP-led regional government, downgraded her supposed degree in political science to a diploma in public administration.

• Ignacio Higuera, a regional official from the far-right Vox party in Extremadura, resigned after it emerged that the university he claimed to attend did not even offer the marketing degree he listed.

• José María Ángel, a Socialist Party official who oversaw disaster recovery in Valencia, stepped down amid allegations he had faked a university degree to secure a civil service post.

• Juan Manuel Moreno, PP’s Andalusian regional president, has been asked to explain apparent changes in his business management qualification on his CV in 2000, 2004 and 2008.

• In Valencia, Pilar Bernabé, the government’s delegate and Socialist Party representative, had to revise her biography to reflect that she never finished degrees in Spanish linguistics and audiovisual communication.

• Pedro Rollán, Senate president and PP member, removed a diploma and master’s in marketing from his CV after investigative journalists revealed the institution in question never issued such credentials.

A cultural and systemic phenomenon

Observers have noted that this sudden wave of academic truth-telling is more than just a passing moment. It reveals a longstanding and widespread issue in Spain – one deeply rooted in the nation’s political system, labour market, and cultural attitudes toward formal education.

‘Qualification inflation’ – the tendency to exaggerate academic achievements on résumés – is not uniquely Spanish. But Spain stands out in Europe for the extent and nature of the phenomenon.

The country is in a curious situation regarding academic qualifications because while many inflate their credentials, a sizeable number are in posts for which they are overqualified.

Data from Eurostat and Cedefop show that over 36% of university-educated Spaniards are employed in jobs that do not require a tertiary degree, compared to the EU average of around 22%. For foreign workers in Spain, the number rises to over 50%.

‘La Picaresca’ and the political class

Regarding qualification inflation, cultural factors also play a role. Many Spaniards recognise the concept of ‘la picaresca’, a term rooted in 16th-century Spanish literature that denotes cunning, rule-bending behaviour designed to survive an unfair system. The pícaro, or trickster, is a beloved antihero in Spanish culture – not because they break the rules, but because they outsmart them.

While ‘la picaresca’ is often invoked with irony or humour, scholars argue it influences real-world behaviour, particularly in contexts of bureaucracy, scarcity, or rigid institutions.

“Fully agree,” says Ignacio Sánchez-Cuenca, professor of political science at Carlos III University in Madrid, when asked about the cultural influence of picaresque thinking.

Sánchez-Cuenca goes on to suggest that the root of the problem lies not in the lack of formal education per se, but in the career path of many Spanish politicians, particularly younger or mid-career figures who enter party structures at an early age and never leave.

“The issue is not whether politicians should have higher education – no one questions that someone from any background can win a seat in parliament. The real problem is politicians who have no profession at all, who have spent their whole lives within a party, and then feel compelled to claim strong academic credentials to compensate for their lack of professional experience.”

He adds: “In Spain, this is becoming increasingly common. These are the people most likely to fake their CVs.”

A broader Southern European pattern

Spain’s crisis of credentials is mirrored, though not perfectly replicated, in neighbouring southern European countries. Italy, Greece, and Portugal also struggle with youth unemployment, overqualification, and rigid public-sector hiring systems.

In contrast, northern European countries such as Germany, Sweden, or Denmark put a stronger emphasis on vocational training and practical experience, making the social pressures around academic degrees less acute.

In France, another country where academic pedigree holds immense weight, “prestige signalling” via elite institutions like the grandes écoles plays a similar role – though the inflation tends to focus more on where someone studied rather than what they claim to have studied.

The UK and Ireland, by contrast, exhibit more skills-based CV embellishment, with candidates more likely to exaggerate experience or soft skills than to fabricate formal qualifications.

Accountability?

For some observers, the sudden spate of resignations and corrections in Spain suggests a welcome turn toward accountability.

However, while many have welcomed the recent resignations as a sign of accountability, others pointed to a deeper concern: none of the politicians in question have faced legal consequences. And critics argue that the underlying incentives – weak enforcement, public tolerance, and the institutional fetishisation of credentials – remain intact.

As Spain continues to grapple with high youth unemployment and labour market mismatch, it is unlikely that the pressure to overstate academic achievements will disappear.

Until political structures value professional experience, vocational pathways, and transparency as much as formal titles, the culture of CV inflation may persist – however many resignations are forced.

In the words of Sánchez-Cuenca: “Education becomes a way to compensate for the absence of a real profession. That’s the true scandal – the lack of careers.”