The Chamber of Deputies will now have to decide how to address the resignation of Minister Dieschbourg. At the end of last week, the Greens politician decided to step down in relation to accusations of having favoured former MP and Differdange Mayor Roberto Traversini, also from the Greens, in the notorious ‘Garden Shed Affair’.
The first step that the Chamber must decide on is whether or not to instruct the police to hear the former Minister, which is her wish. MP Josée Lorsché, fraction president of the Greens, believes that Dieschbourg has not been treated fairly so far: “She has not had any access to the respective files, which is why we are determined to instruct the police to speak to her.”
Before that can happen, all remaining MPs must first get access to the files. MP Gilles Roth, co-fraction president of the Christian Social People’s Party (CSV), explained: “It currently looks as though we will first discuss the matter behind closed doors before presenting a resolution in a public Chamber session.”
Since constitutional regulations still prevent the police from conducting any further investigations, the general prosecutor has already contacted the Chamber about the situation.
MP Sven Clement from the Pirate Party commented: “The Chamber first has to launch auditions and look into the police report before deciding on how to continue. In my opinion, there will still be a number of open questions after I get to read all the files.”
Nevertheless, MP Clement also stressed that everyone in the Chamber believes in the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. It is therefore still possible that the Chamber will close the file without forwarding the case to authorities.
Chamber President Fernand Etgen from the Democratic Party also underlined the importance of holding on to the presumption of innocence and guaranteeing the confidentiality of the investigation.
He explained: “The former Minister has a right to a full enquiry and it is important that we first hear what she has to say. All MPs therefore have to get access to the files. ... It is also important that the investigation be carried out by the same people that treated the Traversini case.”
Lawmakers did not provide any insight into what they expect to happen if it turns out that the former Minister is really implicated in the matter.
