Several Luxembourgish politicians recently travelled to Brazil to inform locals who had recently obtained a Luxembourgish passport about the voting process. Responding to this trip, Amy Winandy, co-speaker of the Young Greens (déi Jonk Gréng), said that the initial plan was to organise a video call. However, because Pirate Party MP Sven Clement had already purchased a plane ticket to Brazil, the other politicians also decided to travel. Winandy declined to comment further on the somewhat controversial trip, which also included Green Party MP and Co-President Djuna Bernard. “I can see why you’d want to travel, and I don’t quite understand all the criticism,” she said.
Amy Winandy is 25 years old, a Gender Studies student in Vienna, and grew up in Godbrange. Speaking to our colleagues from RTL Radio on Wednesday morning, she explained that she was privately involved in climate action but eventually found that she had reached the limit of what she could do as an individual and therefore decided to join the Young Greens. While Winandy will stand as a candidate in the municipal elections in Junglinster, she has not yet decided whether she will also run in the legislative elections in October.
In the context of the municipal elections, the Young Greens advocate for climate neutrality by 2030. The junior politicians of the Green Party would like to see more green municipalities. One of their demands includes gifting an Interrail ticket to all young people on their 18th birthday, allowing them to explore Europe in a sustainable way. Winandy pointed out that the municipality of Walferdange is already doing this.
In addition, the Young Greens want to introduce a “youth pass,” which would allow anyone under the age of 25 to benefit from discounts in all municipalities. This could include, for example, discounts at restaurants or local shops, according to Winandy. Soft mobility should be expanded and as for housing, the Young Greens advocate the promotion of alternative housing concepts, including flat-sharing communities, Tiny Houses, and co-op living.
While the climate crisis naturally takes centre stage in the legislative elections, Winandy thinks that there should be more discussions about intersectional queer feminism. The co-speaker of the Young Greens argued that the intersectional and queer aspects of feminism highlight different forms of discrimination, including racism, sexism, and xenophobia.
Winandy noted that most care work, e.g., caring for children or household work, is still disproportionately handled by women and that the gender pay gap “is also still a thing.” Change needs to start early, for instance by exposing children to “the right representation” in schools. Winandy thinks that quotas are a “good idea,” but also acknowledged that “women still frequently underestimate themselves.”
