The reaction from opposition parties was less than generous. Sam Tanson of déi Gréng (The Greens) said she had been largely unsurprised, as there were virtually no new announcements. She felt the speech had "sidelined the reality in the country" and criticised the absence of any meaningful discussion of state finances or youth unemployment. "We currently have one young person under 25 in five who is looking for a job. That is an extremely high and alarming number," she said.
Laurent Zeimet of the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) described Frieden's address as a "realistic and honest" assessment of the country's economic and social situation, noting that it was not a budget speech and that financial details would be addressed in the autumn. He singled out the housing measures for particular praise, including the planned review of the off-plan housing law (VEFA) and efforts to secure more affordable housing. For Zeimet, the housing crisis remains the most urgent challenge facing the country.
Gilles Baum of the Democratic Party (DP) also defended the speech, saying it was right to place Luxembourg's domestic situation in its international context. On housing, he acknowledged the limits of what the state can do alone, but argued that the announcements made showed a genuine commitment to supporting the sector. "The state cannot do everything here, but it can at least put money into people's pockets to support the sector", he said.
The Left's David Wagner said he was left with the impression that Frieden had given the same speech a year ago, and that there was still no clear plan for housing going forward.
Taina Bofferding of the the Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP) took issue with Frieden's tendency to dwell on what his government had already done rather than setting out a fresh agenda. She also criticised the fact that the housing crisis was acknowledged without being recognised as a crisis. "He patted himself on the back and, above all, announced a lot of things that were already known, projects they still want to implement from their coalition programme before the next elections", she said.
The ADR's Fred Keup accused the Prime Minister of being detached from reality and supplying too few concrete solutions. Particularly the lack of clear answers for the housing issue and other societal problems were the focus of Keup's criticisms.
The ADR leader added that the PM was living in a "wonderland" which had little to do with actual reality for citizens.
When asked what Keup would have expected as a solution, he explained he wanted the government to ensure Luxembourgers were no longer forced to move abroad. Keup also claimed that criminality and lack of security was entirely due to immigrants and that the government therefore needed to crack down on immigration; something he described as "simple".
Sven Clement of the Pirates described the speech as "déjà-vu", criticising that Frieden seemed to have forgotten whole subsections of people such as the middle classes or cross-border workers. He also expected an admission of a real housing crisis, or more on mobility. The announcement on AI did not sufficiently explore the consequences for the business world, he added.
