The Deputy Prime Minister joined our colleagues on RTL Radio on Monday morning to discuss the super election year and pledge his support to Sam Tanson as lead candidate for the Greens.
"Nothing has changed, I will of course run in the elections and accept my mandate if I'm voted into the Chamber, but I will not take on a mandate in the administration", said Bausch at the beginning of the interview. He assured that he is not merely running to collect votes, but rather to actively help his party carry out a generational shift.
Minister Bausch announced on Monday morning that he is endorsing Minister of Justice Sam Tanson as lead candidate for the Greens. He argued that she is best suited to the position, but emphasised that this will be democratically decided by the party.
When it comes to individual voting districts, Minister Bausch advocated for double leaderships.
The Greens are far from 'redundant'
Minister Bausch elaborated that there is a difference between speaking about something and actively standing in for it. He refused the notion that the Greens have become redundant as he believes they are still the only party to actively work on environment and climate issues.
Although all parties have by now recognised that there is much to do in this area, the Greens are the ones with the necessary know-how, said Minister Bausch.
The politician further noted that the Greens no longer "bang their head against a brick wall" and have learned to compromise. Nevertheless, the party should not lose sight of their goals, he said.
Pledge of support for Ukraine
As Minister of Defence, Bausch believes that Luxembourg should continue buying weapons and sending them to Ukraine, which he described as having been raided. Similar attacks by neighbouring states happened to the Grand Duchy twice already, which is why the country should know better than to look away, he said.
Proportionally speaking, Luxembourg has already done a lot for Ukraine, continued Minister Bausch. He shared his believe that the conflict will likely end in negotiations, but explained that this can only happen if the west continues supporting Ukraine.
Mobility
In his role as Minister for Mobility and Public Works, Bausch denied rumours that the Schieburg railway tunnel between Kautenbach and Wilwerwiltz suffered another collapse. On the contrary, construction is advancing as planned and the tunnel will likely reopen according to schedule after Easter, said the Greens politician.
When asked about this year's edition of the Autofestival, Minister Bausch argued that the government should help make electric cars affordable for everyone. Infrastructure, including charging stations, should also be expanded, he said.
