Frank Engel, former CSV president and current lead candidate of the newly-formed Fokus party, gears up for the party's debut in the national election on 8 October, aiming for a seat in the Chamber with centrist policies on housing, growth monitoring, and modernising democracy.
Fokus, which was formed by former president of the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) Frank Engel after a tumultuous exit from the party in February 2022, will participate in its first national election on 8 October. The aim is to win at least one seat in the Chamber of Deputies, according to lead candidate Engel.
In conversation with RTL, he explained that the name Fokus was chosen as a testament to their conviction of focusing on individual issues. As for their overall political orientation, the party sees itself in the centre. Engel also stressed that Fokus will not use any populist strategies and steer clear of extremism.
When asked about their priorities, Engel first cited housing. He believes that as many people as possible should be able to afford housing at "reasonable" prices. Hopes are that the speed of construction practices can be increased and that more building land can be freed up.
As for Fokus' second priority, Engel talked about growth, specifically ways of monitoring and controlling it in an "intelligent" manner to ensure that "we do not drown in the mobility problems of the future".
The third policy pillar of Fokus is modernising democracy and institutions, said Engel. According to him, this includes a discussion on the civic participation of foreigners: "Every year we distribute 10,000 passports, including to people whose integration post passport is not greater than that of EU citizens who could benefit of an active right to vote if they were interested."
Engel noted that this concerns people who contribute to the country's wealth with their work and taxes on a daily basis. When asked about the 2015 referendum that showed an overwhelming majority of the country denying the right to vote in the national election to foreign residents, Engel said that society evolves.
The Fokus leader further discussed the party's 60 election candidates, which he says reflect the full range of society, particularly in terms of age and political experience. The only area where he would have wished for more diversity are the candidates' professions, acknowledged Engel.
He concluded by saying that it was indeed difficult to find 60 people willing to candidate, but that this was a problem faced by every party in the country.
