Ben Streff has officially been the new MP of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP) for the East constituency since last Tuesday, replacing Paulette Lenert, who has moved to the Council of State. He was RTL's editorial guest on Monday morning.
His entry into the Chamber comes just under five months after he stepped down as party manager, having been openly critical of the party and of some former ministers. Today, he says he still stands by what he said at the time.
He stressed that internal discussions within the party had since been clarified and that the focus was now on the future.
For Streff, honesty in politics is essential, as politicians' credibility is at stake. He argued that one must be honest enough in such situations, which is why he continues to stand by what he did at the time.
Streff's entry also reignited discussion within the LSAP about the seating arrangement in the Chamber. Streff did not want to sit next to Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR) president Alexandra Schoos, with whom he also has to work on the Berdorf municipal council.
He acknowledged that no one in the LSAP was particularly keen to sit directly next to the ADR. The LSAP, he said, naturally respects the democratic choice made by voters. However, that does not automatically mean they are politically close to that party or necessarily want to sit beside them, he said.
Streff is now seated between Ben Polidori and Mars Di Bartolomeo.
To reposition the LSAP more assertively, Streff wants the party to focus above all on concrete proposals. As an example, he pointed to the party's demand for a €200 increase in the minimum wage. Although this was initially dismissed as unrealistic, he argued that it was ultimately reflected in the compromises reached by the government.
Streff criticised the government for too often behaving like a mediator rather than taking clear positions. In his view, the opposition must therefore convince people with concrete proposals of its own.
The new MP is particularly concerned with equal opportunities. On this issue, he believes housing cannot be ignored. If the housing crisis is not resolved, he argued, it will be difficult to guarantee social justice in other areas. Streff therefore believes municipalities must also take responsibility.
Following recent tensions within the LSAP parliamentary group, particularly over the European asylum and migration package, Streff described his first parliamentary group meeting as a "positive debate" and spoke of a genuinely healthy culture of disagreement. MP Liz Braz abstained in last week's vote, while the rest of the group voted against the package.
Streff stressed that it is important for a party to debate issues and allow different positions to be expressed. He sees this as a strength rather than a weakness of the LSAP, underlining that a party without debate cannot function in the long term.
He added that he would be more concerned if he were in a party such as the Christian Social People's Party (CSV), where, in his view, the direction taken by Minister for Home Affairs Léon Gloden did not appear to be causing debate either within the parliamentary group or the party, despite Christian social teaching suggesting a different approach.
Asked whether leaving his role as party manager in the middle of a dispute had not closed the door to further debate, Streff said that in politics one had to know when to put one's fist on the table and when to keep it in one's pocket.
He argued that making a strong gesture can sometimes be necessary to send a signal, but that politics cannot be conducted through an empty-chair approach. Despite everything, he said, he believed the party would find its way back together.
When asked whether it was fair to say that there was unrest within the LSAP, Streff said he could live with that description if it simply meant there was agitation or movement within the party. He also addressed his previous criticism of RTL's reporting on LSAP internal affairs, saying that journalists should use their sources where they exist, while adding that the debate over wording was ultimately secondary.
In the Chamber, Streff will work, among other things, on the parliamentary committee regarding economic issues. He is particularly concerned about self-employed workers such as winegrowers, hairdressers, and butchers.
According to Streff, they are often among the first to be hit by crises and play a central role in local community life. The MP therefore wants to campaign for better social protection and work with the actors concerned to develop a comprehensive reform package.
To tackle political disengagement, Streff wants politicians to move closer to people's everyday lives. Traditional election meetings, he argued, are becoming less effective. Instead, politics must be present at local festivities, in associations, and in citizens' daily lives, he stressed. For Streff, social media also has an important role to play.
Platforms such as TikTok, he said, should not be dominated by right-wing parties. Addressing the issue of Luxembourg's multilingualism, he acknowledged its importance, but stressed that what matters most is clear and understandable language that reaches people, according to the new MP from the East.
