Over the holiday period, the 51-year-old CSV politician wants to assess whether he can combine his roles as faction leader, mayor and family man over the long term “I haven’t yet had the time to think in detail about how I could organise everything”, Laurent Zeimet said. “Colleagues who have been in similar situations have given me examples. Finance Minister Gilles Roth was mayor of Mamer and parliamentary group leader, and Alex Bodry combined the mayorship of Dudelange with leading the Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP) parliamentary group. I’ve already had a brief exchange with him about it.” The coming weeks, and especially the holidays, will offer an opportunity for reflection. Zeimet plans to use the quieter period to discuss the situation with his family, colleagues, members of the municipal council and his parliamentary group. “Whatever decision I make will also have an impact on their plans”, he said. “Mine have already been turned upside down, and before I turn other people’s upside down as well, it’s only fair to talk to them first.”
Giving up his post at the municipality would not be easy for him, should it come to that. Zeimet says he still has many projects and ideas for Bettembourg. At the same time, as parliamentary group leader, he wants to work closely with the government team and the coalition partner to develop clear messages and send strong signals to the public.
The government reshuffle announced by Prime Minister Luc Frieden on Monday not only saw the Labour and Sports portfolios handed to Marc Spautz and Martine Hansen respectively. It also left the CSV needing a new parliamentary group leader. On Wednesday evening, Laurent Zeimet received broad backing from his colleagues, a decision that could ultimately also have repercussions at the municipal level.
“I was asked on Sunday afternoon whether I could imagine taking on this role,” Zeimet explained. “I said that, in principle, I could. Because I also believe that you don’t just say no, when asked to take on such a responsibility. Of course, I thought about it carefully and discussed it with my family. It was also very important to me that my colleagues in the parliamentary group could see themselves working with me in this position.”
Now, as parliamentary group leader, Laurent Zeimet will shoulder important responsibilities, ones which demand considerable time and commitment.
