On Saturday morning, the Greens (Déi Gréng) held their national party congress in Leudelange, with a fighting promise to bring the party back to former strength.
Outgoing party leaders Djuna Bernard and Meris Šehović were honoured with standing ovations as the Greens elected their new party presidents on Saturday morning.
The leadership transition was marked by resounding majorities, with Stéphanie Empain receiving 167 votes in favour and 6 votes against, and François Benoy securing 174 votes in favour and 3 votes against. Both Empain and Benoy will now take the helm of the party.
A year has passed since the Greens suffered a significant setback in the October 2023 national elections, losing five seats and seeing their influence in parliament drastically diminished. However, the mood has now shifted for the party, as they emerged from their national congress with renewed confidence and a promise to restore the Greens to their former glory.
How will the Greens make their comeback?
Stéphanie Empain emphasised that the way forward for her is not about overshadowing the previous leadership or merely trying to do a better job. She praised the former leaders for their fantastic work during their tenure. Instead, Empain believes the focus should be on making the party's ideas more presentable and socially acceptable once again.
Addressing frequent criticism of the Greens' so-called "prohibitionist approach" to policy, Empain strongly rejected the label. She believes that environmental protection and social cohesion are issues that impact everyone and she argued that she has yet to come across someone that can name her something the Greens had forbidden during their time in power. She continued: "Nothing really has changed, has it? Other parties are doing exactly the same thing if were speaking of 'prohibitionist policy.'"
François Benoy took a critical approach and reflected on the last ten years of the Greens in power and concluded that perhaps there may have been some shortcomings in how the party communicated their policy positions to the public.
The government's "cold heart"
MPs Djuna Bernard and Meris Šehović pulled no punches in their speeches as outgoing party leaders, launching a scathing critique of the DP-CSV government's perceived failures. They accused the government of lacking a long-term vision, instead focusing on policies that only serve the upper class. The former Green party presidents pointed to the Caritas affair as a stark example, calling it evidence of the government’s "cold heart."
Bernard and Šehović also sharply criticised the government's empty promises and poor track record in the housing sector, pointing to the lack of meaningful progress in addressing the housing crisis.
As far as environmental matters are concerned, Bernard and Šehović singled out Minister for the Environment Serge Wilmes, claiming he has effectively disappeared from public view, hiding behind lofty goals of "zero emissions." They also expressed their dismay over the government's rollback of aid for sustainable mobility.
The Greens emphasised that citizens want a proactive approach to environmental policy, not a government that hesitates or holds back.
© Arnaud Serexhe / RTL
On the EU level, the Greens underscored their commitment to preventing any rollback of environmental policies. Despite not being as popular in the most recent European elections, the Greens vowed to fiercely defend against any watering down of environmental promises
