Can Gabriel Boisante interrupt a century of Liberal leadership in the city?

The City's Socialists have played a confident hand; and what happens in Luxembourg City, unlike Vegas, doesn’t stay in the City, it reverberates across the nation. So we could see a lot more political manoeuvring in the following weeks and months in response.

Let me tell you why this is a noteworthy moment for Luxembourg - but let me start at the beginning.

Gabriel Boisante (LSAP) is 45 years old, and he’s already a member of the Municipal Council. He wasn’t directly elected to it, but replaced Marc Angel when the latter assumed his position at the European Parliament. He had come 5th in the LSAP list for the city with 2,741 votes in 2017, and was thus the next in line to replace him.

If it doesn’t sound like a lot of votes… it’s because it isn’t. But it's unsurprising: the LSAP came out with just over 11% of total votes in 2017. Marc Angel himself, who had headed the list, had just over 6,400 votes.

In contrast, the DP’s lead candidate, Mayor Lydie Polfer, had received well over 12,500 votes and her party had taken the lion’s share of votes in the City with over 30% of votes going their way. Also unsurprising as the City has had well over a century of liberal leadership since 1904*.

Between then and now, there’s only ever been 2 non-liberal mayors: Luc Housse, between 1918 and 1920, and Paul Wilwertz between 1964 and 1969. Both of them were members of the Socialists (LSAP).

Gabriel Boisante and his partner at the top of the ticket for 2023 Maxime Miltgen (LSAP) want to challenge this track record. At a press conference on Tuesday, 4 October, they said they were coming forward to win it.

A French Mayor?

“If we are presenting ourselves for election, it’s to win, so yes, we aim for the Mayorshop, or at least to be in the executive”. That’s what he said. But he didn’t say it in English, nor did he say it in Luxembourgish. He said it in perfect French. Because he is French.

Gabriel Boisante has lived in Luxembourg for decades, and is a Luxembourgish citizen, as well as a French citizen, and this could serve him and his party (LSAP) very well.

Since the law changed, nearly every resident in Luxembourg will be able to participate in next year's communal election -- and this may just encourage more people to register to vote. And the Socialists could be betting on it. Luxembourg City has after all a population where 7 in 10 residents is a foreign national and well over 21,000 of the city’s residents are French.

In fact the French represent the largest ethnic group behind Luxembourgers in the City. There are just over 37,000 residents with Luxembourgish nationality in the City with the Portuguese (12,000, nearly half the French), Italian, Spanish, Belgian, German, Romanian and Greek communities representing the other largest groups.

If Gabriel Boisante is able to capture a fresh “French-vote” and the “foreign-vote” he may lead a successful campaign for LSAP, attracting and uniting behind him both Luxembourgers and foreign residents. Of course this will require convincing many to register to vote, and as I said in my column on Monday, this has proven underwhelming in the past.

But with Maxime Miltgen completing the political duo at the head of their list, together, they could aim to appeal to a large demographic. She is 29 years old, and leads the Socialist women in the city.

In an instagram post I published in April, I showed, using data from the City, that there are more 30 year olds in Luxembourg City than any other age-group, and that most people are between 23 and 43 years old. With Miltgen on one end and Boisante on the other, the LSAP is hoping to capture the electorate.

By presenting themselves as candidates that reflect the city’s population: young, diverse, local and international, I think Boisante and Miltgen could set themselves up for success, if they manage to convince residents to register to vote, and vote for them.

But appearances and winning an election are one thing, winning with a programme and having the capacity to deliver and manage a city are another. The Democratic Party and the Christian Social People's Party have experience, and a proven track record, and there are potential frontrunners in both: Alderman Patrick Goldschmidt (DP) and Alderman Serge Wilmes (CSV) perhaps.

Housing and Representation in focus

“Housing will be in focus” Boisante told me, giving me a preview of a yet to be announced programme that aims to address the issue of housing in the city.

Indeed, Luxembourg’s social housing pales in comparison with our neighbours, especially when we compare social rental accommodation, Luxembourg is barely visible in the data in comparison to the Netherlands, France and Germany.

I wasn’t surprised, in fact I said Housing would be one of my main themes for the 2023 local elections on Monday, and many of your comments on Today and on social media showed that for many of you, position-on-housing will be the determining factor in terms of where your vote goes.

“We want residents to register to vote, the important thing is that we have a representative democracy and that means having everyone participating” Boisante told me earlier this week.

The LSAP announcement follows an earlier announcement by Francois Benoy and Claudie Reyland and the Green Party (dei Greng) who also want to seriously challenge Lydie Polfer and her 26 years (when counting both her terms) as Mayor, calling for “Fresh wind”.

On the other hand, Lydie Polfer continues to enjoy support and is well liked in the City, however, I believe the voices against her double-mandate (she serves both as Mayor and a Deputy) have increased both in and out of the DP.

I am waiting to see what the Democratic Party membership and leadership will decide for Polfer's replacement, if she chooses not to run again. The party understands the changing social landscape of the city, and the country, and in March it celebrated Monique Smit-Thijs (DP), a foreign-born national, becoming mayor of Bertrange (replacing Frank Colabianchi); And after all, it can also boast that it was Guy Arendt (DP) who brought the law into the Chamber this July, as its rapporteur.

It is clear to all, that Luxembourg has changed and evolved. The law has now changed as well, to allow nearly every resident to participate. If people show up to register and vote, we are setting up for perhaps the most important election year in Luxembourg's recent history.

I have dedicated most of my adult life in studying Luxembourg and specifically the City and its urban development, focusing on housing, nature, representation and culture and so I welcome yet another announcement for 2023 from our fellow residents who want to offer our city their time, energy and commitment.

I remain cautiously optimistic, for a lot can be said before an election, but until we see the programmes and the full list of candidates, there are simply too many things up in the air.

One thing is certain, the LSAP has made its move in the City. Who’s next?

*Liberal leadership: Mayors of the Democratic Party or its predecessors. 

I am particularly interested to hear from people who will be voting for the first time in Luxembourg, in either of these elections.

Christos Floros covers News and Politics for RTL Today @christosfloros