Engel acknowledges that his turbulent exit from the Christian Social People’s Party (CSV) in April 2021 took its toll on his health, even if he tried hiding it at the time. Today he says he is over it and looking ahead to new challenges.
After the ‘CSV Frëndeskrees’ affair ended with him and six further CSV members being acquitted, Engel relaunched his political career with the creation of a new party: Fokus.
He believes that it made more sense for him to build a new movement rather than continue working according to policies that he does not support. When asked about criticism of not being able to act as a team player, Engel responded that he was sabotaged from the beginning and made aware that he was not wanted, which he described as a “not particularly satisfying experience”.
Despite everything that happened, Engel believes that it was the right decision for him to become part of the CSV. At the time, the party just started to change and move away from the conservative policies of the 1970s and 1980s, explained Engel.
Talking about change, our colleagues from RTL wanted to know from Engel what he thinks about Luc Frieden’s comeback as lead candidate for the CSV: “Luc Frieden does not exactly stand for renewal.”
Nevertheless, Engel showed understanding that Frieden, who became minister for a first time 25 years ago, decided to withdraw from politics and not sit on the opposition bench ten years ago.
According to Engel’s assessment, the CSV turned to Frieden because the party was unable to carry out a renewal among its top ranks. The last act of renewal was me being elected as CSV party president, argued Engel.
Despite administrative challenges, Engel described the phase when he founded his new party as “exciting times”. He elaborated that he conducted many political discussions with people belonging to other parties as well as those who have never been politically active.
In the last country-wide voter poll, carried out by Ilres on behalf of RTL in November 2022, Fokus received 1.5%. Despite this result, Engel is convinced that his party will be represented in the Chamber after this year’s elections. He deems one to two seats a realistic goal for a young party.
When asked about the projected six seats for the Pirate Party, Engel explained that they would either have to score exceptionally high in the large districts or gain in the smaller ones. However, he does not believe that the Pirates can offer lists and policies convincing enough to gain 10% of votes.
Fokus speculates on mandates in the big districts and acknowledges that a small miracle would be necessary to also gain votes in the smaller ones.
Engel is convinced that the country needs Fokus to engender changes in Luxembourg’s political system. He said that despite regular efforts, the other parties have thus far ignored Fokus for the most part.
According to Engel, fundamental political issues are not being discussed. He expressed doubts about the goal of population growth and how Luxembourg is to manage 10,000 new residents every year without creating the necessary accommodations.
The political system needs to fundamentally change, stated Engel. He believes that the separation between the government and Chamber does not exist in reality at present. Engel continued that since the government holds a majority in the Chamber, all their draft laws and projects are passed with the votes of said majority.
The opposition on the other hand, said Engel, believes that they have to refuse anything proposed by the government to show that they know better.
To bring about change, one has to start with the electoral system, noted Engel. He argued that the head of government and the Chamber should be chosen individually, which would mean that the government is not guaranteed a majority in the Chamber. This in return would allow the institution to carry out its actual role of democratically reviewing legislation, explained Engel.
The politician concluded the interview by saying that the head of government should be chosen in a single electoral district.
