As parliament heads into its summer recess, it is also time for the political groups to take stock. For the Christian Social People's Party (CSV), the assessment is clearly positive.
Parliamentary group leader Laurent Zeimet spoke on Tuesday of a "joint assessment" with the Democratic Party (DP) and highlighted the good cooperation within the coalition. Despite turbulent months around the turn of the year, he said the party was now in a strong position and optimistic about the autumn political season.
Zeimet did not hide the fact that the CSV had also faced internal challenges in recent months. However, the party had reorganised itself and was now once again looking to the future with optimism. In particular, social dialogue had begun to move forward again in recent weeks, he said.
New Labour Minister Marc Spautz had succeeded in bringing employers and trade unions back to the negotiating table, according to Zeimet. For the CSV, he noted, this was a key prerequisite for resolving social conflicts and finding lasting compromises.
The CSV cited a number of reforms implemented together with coalition partner DP among the key developments of the past 12 months. These include pension reform, the asylum and migration pact, a series of tax cuts, a new media law, and the planned shift towards more outpatient care in the healthcare system, which is intended to make patient care more flexible without creating a two-tier system.
Purchasing power had also been strengthened through a number of measures, according to Zeimet. The CSV cited the adjustment of tax brackets in line with inflation and the exemption of the social minimum wage from income tax as examples.
Alongside these issues, the parliamentary group leader also pointed to investment in the country's resilience. Luxembourg needed to be better prepared for crises such as heatwaves, flooding, and geopolitical tensions, he said, adding that the planned increase in defence spending also had the CSV's full support in this context.
Another important part of the assessment concerned the outcome of the recent tripartite talks. Zeimet said he was satisfied with the agreement and stressed that it had been prepared intensively. At the same time, he once again rejected claims that the DP had pressured PM Luc Frieden into convening tripartite talks.
He clarified that the decision had already been discussed within the CSV several days earlier. To underline the point, he even referred to a dinner with Frieden on 14 April, which had taken place before the DP's subsequent political statements.
Tax reform will be the main focus of the autumn political season. The CSV wants to honour its election promise and provide around €900 million in tax relief.
Asked how the tax cuts would be financed, Laurent Zeimet made clear that the purpose of tax reform was not to generate new revenue. Its aim was to ease the financial burden on citizens. He also pointed out that the previous government had planned an even more expensive reform.
Alongside tax reform, the CSV also wants to continue working towards a more competitive economy and greater administrative simplification.
Although the CSV and DP continue to have differing views on some political issues, Zeimet sees the coalition as stable. While both parties retain their own political programmes, cooperation over the past few months had worked well, he said, noting that disagreements were regularly addressed in meetings between the two parliamentary groups.
