The municipality of Redange will move from first-past-the-post to proportional representation in 2023, with the number of councillors increasing from nine to eleven. Three citizens’ lists are running, two with a full slate of candidates and one with only six. As the various lists promote themselves, one of them recently came under fire for a campaign gaffe.
The list “Réiden 23" around incumbent mayor Henri Gerekens used the coat of arms of the municipality of Redange, which is not permitted for use by any party except the municipality. It was used on a group photo and various candidates had published portrait photos of themselves with the coat of arms on their Facebook profiles as well.
This was spotted by one person, who then raised the question whether this is allowed, which it is not. When asked, Mayor Gerekens explained that his list had no ulterior motives in using the coat of arms.
“We just thought it would look good and nobody really thought about how allowed or not allowed it would be,” the mayor said, adding that “if we had known, we wouldn’t have even considered the whole thing.”
Meanwhile, the other two lists, “A dynamic new wind for Redange” and “Committed Citizens for the Municipality of Redange,” have kept a low profile, with members declining to comment on the matter. Tom Faber, currently the second alderman, has suggested that “Réiden 23" should have made a written request to the municipality before using the coat of arms.
The bad mood in the Municipal Executive Board (Schäfferot) for the past six years has been another point of contention in the run-up to the election. According to Mayor Gerekens, tensions have been high since the last election in 2017, when Tom Faber, who received the third most votes, wanted to become mayor or at least the first alderman. However, other local politicians insisted on sticking to the election results at the time.
Faber has confirmed that the mood on the board has not been good, saying that he feels excluded by his colleagues. He claims that his suggestions are often ignored and that he does not receive satisfactory answers to his questions. Mayor Gerekens, however, counters that Faber would not have to ask so many questions if he had attended more meetings. Faber explains that he missed ten out of 15 meetings in at least one syndicate due to the Regional Tourism Office, of which he is a founding member, holding meetings at the same time, as well as health issues for himself and his wife.
The situation came to a head on 31 January, when Faber was stripped of all posts in a number of syndicates and non-profit associations (ASBLs) in a closed-door municipal council meeting. According to Faber, the reason given was that he had not been present enough in the various committees.
It should be noted that at a municipal council meeting on 12 January, Mayor Gerekens accused Faber of going behind the rest of the board’s back. Faber had reportedly contacted a family from whom the municipality wanted to buy a plot of land for a project near the town hall or primary school respectively. The value of the land had been calculated by an audited agency, but Faber allegedly told the family that the land was worth more and that they should wait until after the next local elections before making a decision. The mayor claims to have learned of this from the landowner.
Faber argues that he was not involved at all in the planning of the project for whose implementation the land was to be purchased. At the meeting, he did not deny that he had gone to the family to obtain information, but he did not answer the other allegations. There are two different minutes of this meeting. One of them, which was not signed by Faber, states that he admitted to the accusations.
As a result, his lawyer announced at the beginning of February that he would sue the municipality if the minutes were published. This has since happened after the minutes appeared in the Redange municipal gazette.
Faber did not want to confirm or rule out the possibility of a lawsuit, stating that he is in contact with his lawyer.
