On Saturday at noon, our colleagues from RTL Radio hosted a discussion featuring four young politicians who will assume the mayoral position for the first time in their respective municipalities following the recent elections.
Fréd Ternes, the future mayor of Niederanven representing the Christian Social People’s Party (CSV), highlighted that municipal politics places greater emphasis on individuals rather than party dynamics.
Similarly, Bob Steichen, the newly elected mayor of Ettelbruck from the Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP), stated that the focus is more on the municipality, with party politics playing a diminished role.
Ben Ries, the incoming mayor of Junglinster representing the Democratic Party (DP), expressed his intention to maintain a sense of continuity in his commune.
Mandy Arendt, a member of the Pirate Party and soon-to-be mayor of Colmar-Berg, recognised that national-level proposals from her party may not always be directly applicable at the local level.
However, she also stressed the importance of transparency in local governance and outlined her plans to implement live streams of municipal council meetings.
The incoming mayors expressed their desire for more dedicated time to fulfil their political mandates. They highlighted that the current number of political leave days is not enough, even when factoring in flexible working arrangements.
Steichen stressed the challenges faced when juggling responsibilities in larger municipalities and the need for a reform to increase the number of available hours.
Arendt announced that she will run in the upcoming legislative elections as a candidate for the Pirate Party. She acknowledged the significant support she had received from her party and felt compelled to reciprocate. In addition, Arendt highlighted the need for greater representation of women in politics.
Steichen made it clear that he had no plans to run in the legislative elections as mayor, a decision that received positive reception from his party’s committee, according to him.
Ternes echoed a similar sentiment, affirming his commitment to focusing solely on his municipal duties and opting not to seek a parliamentary mandate.
Meanwhile, Ries was unable to comment on the topic, since discussions regarding the candidate lists are still ongoing within the DP.
Regarding the merger of the Nordstad municipalities (Diekirch, Ettelbruck, Erpeldange-sur-Sûre, Bettendorf, and Schieren), Steichen acknowledged that the five municipalities had not managed to achieve the desired progress by the time of the elections.
Nevertheless, a “good cooperation” had been established, which is important, according to Steichen. The municipalities now face the decision of whether to proceed with the merger. However, Ettelbruck, in Steichen’s view, remains in favour of the merger.
