Marc Lies has apologised for a contentious social media comment that he believes to have been misinterpreted as a criticism of former Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn and inadvertently aligned with rightwing populist rhetoric.
Hesperange Mayor and MP for the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) Marc Lies in recent days felt the consequences of making out-of-context observations. In response to his contentious social media comment, Lies argued in conversation with RTL that he had not been aware that the post he commented on had been in relation to the killing of five chickens in his hometown.
The post "at some point appeared on my display", explained Lies, saying that he had "failed to establish the connection to the incident in Hesperange."
The author of the original post had related the chicken killing to a general rise in crime in the Grand Duchy, arguing that there are more people not respecting the rules. An increasing rate of "criminal scum" that harms decent Luxembourgers, in the words of the author.
Communicative mishaps
Lies also refuted that his comment was a direct criticism of former Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn. He argued that it was not about refugees here in Luxembourg, but rather the overall security problem, which he believes to have worsened in recent years.
The politician went on to say that his critique of the previous administration's "open gates" policies have to be seen in a global context: "We have an immense [population] growth ... which means that more has to be done on social matters and also on security. Not enough has been done in that area in the past."
Lies eventually stated: "I should not have made this post in this manner. And for that I apologise. But, like I said, the issue is simply the security concerns and life quality of people living here on our territory."
Another concern that Lies shared was that his statement has played into the hands of rightwing populist politicians and that it promotes negative stereotypes of refugees. "That certainly was rather unfortunate", the Hesperange Mayor acknowledged.
He further drew attention to what he described as other recent communicative mishaps, including statements made by Alderwoman Simone Beissel from the Democratic Party (DP), as well as those of his party colleague Léon Gloden, the Minister for Home Affairs. Lies lamented that in both cases the rightwing label had been used prematurely.
Dismay in Hesperange
Opposition parties on the Hesperange municipal council have in the meantime requested in an open letter that Mayor Lies provide explanations, as well as an apology, in the upcoming council meeting.
Upon request for further comment, Prime Minister Luc Frieden directed our colleagues from RTL to the CSV's clarifying conversation with Lies.
