Political party Fokus re-elected Marc Ruppert as president, unveiled a new name, and proposed a long-term political commission to address structural issues like growth.
Fokus was launched in February 2022 by figures already active in Luxembourg's political landscape, including Frank Engel, Marc Ruppert, Gary Kneip, and Luc Majerus.
Despite this experience, the party has so far failed to secure any mandates in municipal, national or European elections. At its latest congress, the party introduced some internal changes, including a slight rebranding.
The party last made headlines around eighteen months ago during its European election campaign, which prominently featured Frank Engel and Monica Semedo. While Semedo, a former MEP for the Democratic Party (DP), has not renewed her membership, Engel remains in the party but will be stepping back from the spotlight.
Marc Ruppert will continue to lead Fokus, following unanimous confirmation as party president. Caterina Pellegrini has taken over the role of General Secretary from Anne Winter, who stepped down due to professional obligations. The party also slightly altered its name to "Fokus. The Reasonable Alternative".
Ruppert explained that many citizens express a desire for an alternative to mainstream politics but are wary of extremism. According to him, voters are looking for parties that address real issues, something they feel major parties are failing to do.
Ruppert stated that this is the reason why Fokus chose to label itself an "alternative", but with a deliberate emphasis on "reason", to underscore its goal of proposing measured, rational solutions.
He acknowledged that Fokus cannot be a one-stop shop offering every possible policy, but instead aims to concentrate on the most pressing issues, notably, he said, the challenges posed by continued economic and demographic growth, which featured prominently at the congress.
Fokus does not reject growth outright but criticises how its negative side effects have not been properly anticipated. According to the party, this short-sightedness is due to mainstream parties planning no further than the next election cycle.
As a solution, Fokus proposes the creation of a "future and resilience commission", modelled after a similar initiative in Finland, which would focus on long-term structural challenges. The proposed commission would include between 11 and 13 MPs from across the political spectrum, reflecting the makeup of the Chamber of Deputies.
Asked whether this would not merely replicate government policy under a new label, Ruppert argued that the intention is different: the deputies involved would be asked to assess policies not based on short-term gains but with a 15- to 20-year horizon.
He stressed that the idea is to encourage politicians, especially from larger parties, to think beyond immediate political returns and ask themselves whether they will still support today's decisions once they return to power in the future.
He acknowledged that changing political culture is not easy, but pointed out that the Finnish example, which is, according to him, already being replicated by other countries, shows this kind of initiative can succeed.
The motion in favour of such a commission as a proposition of the party was adopted unanimously.
Fokus currently has around 240 to 250 members, around 40 of whom attended the congress, held in a restaurant near Luxembourg City's main train station.
Financially, the party reports being in good shape: it recently repaid the final instalment of a loan to former member Jacques Linster, leaving the party debt-free. Fokus also stated it has no intention of taking on any new debt in the future.
