The Prime Minister of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, in office since 2013, submitted his resignation on Monday (9). The request was delivered to Grand Duke Henry, according to tradition. He remains in the role on an interim basis until a new cabinet is sworn in.
The European country is the last grand duchy in the world and a representative democracy in the form of a constitutional monarchy. Grand Duke Henry is the country’s head of state, while the prime minister is the head of government.
The country’s legislative elections took place on Sunday (8). Bettel had a chance of being returned to office, but his coalition lost its majority after the green party – “déi gréng” – lost five seats in Parliament.
Unlike Brazil, whose Legislature is made up of the Federal Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, the European country has a single legislative body – the Chamber of Deputies – with 60 parliamentarians.
The prime minister’s party, DP, with a liberal tendency, won two seats, while the socialist party LSAP won one more compared to 2018. This was not enough to compensate for the Greens’ losses and the coalition ended with 29 seats.
New government
The CSV, a Christian party, maintained its 21 seats and its leadership in number of seats. Despite his position, he was not part of the last government. This time, the leader of the party’s list, Luc Frieden, was summoned by the Grand Duke to form the next government.
Frieden had been out of the political scene for ten years. He only returned at the beginning of this year, already achieving the second highest personal vote, with 30,999 votes, behind only the prime minister, who obtained 34,018.
To achieve a majority, the party will need to form a coalition. If the Social Christians unite with the liberals, they will occupy 35 seats in Parliament. If they join the socialists, they will have 33.
Frieden has already expressed his preference for the DP to the local press, saying that there is a significant overlap between the electoral programs of both parties. When trying to form a coalition, it is necessary not only to achieve a majority of seats, but also to put together a unified government program for the next five years.
Controversial party growth
The ADR, the party most to the right of the Grand Duchy’s political spectrum, gained one seat and became the fourth political force in the country in terms of number of seats in Parliament, with five in total.
The party is seen as far-right by some people. In December 2022, the country’s Economy Minister, Franz Fayot, used the expression “extreme right” to describe the position of a member of the party.
The party rejects the title, but has controversial positions. In June 2014, she was the only one to vote against marriage and adoption for homosexual couples.
She is also part of the Alliance of European Reformists and Conservatives, alongside far-right parties such as “Brothers of Italy”, by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and “Law and Justice”, by Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Unprecedented event
Liz Braz (LSAP) became the first woman of Portuguese origin to be elected to the Luxembourg Parliament, according to the local press. At 27 years old, she will also be the youngest among the deputies.
Liz is the daughter of the former deputy, deputy prime minister and minister of Justice who stepped away from politics in 2019 for health reasons, Félix Braz, son of Portuguese immigrants.
Around half of Luxembourg’s population is made up of foreigners, with the Portuguese being the largest community. According to 2022 data from the Luxembourg government, they represent approximately 14.5% of the population of 660 thousand inhabitants.
Brazilian participation
Brazilians are the second largest community of foreigners outside Luxembourg. There are more than 27 thousand currently. The relevance of this community led to Roberta Züge being invited by the Pirates party to run for the Luxembourg Parliament. See more here.
Born in São Paulo, Züge obtained Luxembourg citizenship in 2018, through a law that made obtaining nationality more flexible. She moved to the country in 2020.
Despite failing to be elected, her party, which participated in legislative elections for the first time in 2013, gained one seat compared to 2018, and will now have three deputies in Parliament.
Only 188 Brazilian-Luxembourgers asked to participate in Brazil’s election, but LuxCitizenship, a company that helps people with Luxembourgish citizenship in the Americas, estimates that around a thousand Brazilians participated in the elections in Luxembourg.
Voting by post is the only option for expatriates, and this year the presentation of a Luxembourgish identity document was required to vote from abroad, which made it impossible for many Brazilian-Luxembourgers to participate.
Still, the number of postal votes has increased by around 48% in the capital of Luxembourg this year, where voters without residence in the country cast their votes. It went from 4,495 in 2018 to 6,666 in 2023.
The law that made it easier for descendants of Luxembourgers to obtain nationality did not require the person to live in the country and was valid for nationals of any country – not just Brazil.
Source: CNN Brasil
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