© RTL-Grafik
The LSAP is electing a new party executive and a new party leadership member at its congress in Roodt-sur-Syre this Saturday.
Not much change is expected for a majority of the positions, in particular with regards to the presidency, as Francine Closener and Dan Biancalana, who have been at the helm of the party together since March 2022, are running again for this position.
While it seems clear now that there is only one candidacy per spot, other candidates had been considered in the past. For example, at one point Paulette Lenert was ready to take on the responsibility and Georges Engel had also expressed his interest.
Nonetheless, no other candidates are running as the current leadership hopes to work in continuity. This was not always clear, says Francine Closener.
"It's no secret that I was doubting whether I wanted to continue at the beginning of the year, given I had just been given an additional position as a councillor, and was pretty exhausted after two elections. But then came this great campaign for the European elections and of course the fantastic result gave me a lot of motivation."
The election of the Secretary General will be more interesting, on the other hand.
After two mandates and five years, Tom Jungen is giving up his post and is handing it over to one of two potential candidates: either the current party treasurer Sacha Pulli, or the former president of the Young Socialists Amir Vesali.
The decision will be made by the delegates who will elect their General Secretary this Saturday. One thing is certain in any case: the two young men are highly motivated to take on this honorary post. Although this staff issue has not been clarified in advance, Francine Closener guarantees that there will be no dispute.
Nonetheless, it could be that not all members see the situation as harmoniously as the Co-Party President. In an interview with RTL, she expressed her optimism about the candidacies of young, motivated people.
"I take a really positive view of this because we will certainly hear from both of them what their plans are, what their projects are for the party. That can only help us if two young people think about the direction in which the party should develop."
The mandates that will be voted on on Saturday are to last until March 2026. In 20 months, the party will therefore be able to choose a leader to lead the LSAP into the next parliamentary elections in 2028.
