At the déi Gréng meeting, which took place on 21 July in the Drescherhaus cultural centre in Dommeldange, the party was clearly not in the mood to pretend that the coalition was working as one harmonious movement. The leader of the parliamentary group, , for instance, said that “the current crises should not be an excuse to postpone important reforms towards climate neutrality and more social justice."

The DP has stated that there was little room for manoeuvre when it came to implementing tax reforms, but déi Gréng doesn’t agree. "We have room for manoeuvre if we decide to do so, but we must have the courage to decide," said Lorsché. The group is targeting potential revenue from taxes on building land speculation or tobacco excise duties (which are among the lowest in Europe in Luxembourg).

When it comes to the on petrol or diesel for another month, the Jonk Gréng--the party’s youth representatives--had already published a press release on 19 July, openly criticising this upcoming government decision. "But [the Jonk Gréng] are right", says Lorsché. "It is a [measure] that we will only support if our demands are also respected, so that we don't lose out.”

A party from the left

The Greens are also weighing up the reduction of VAT on photovoltaic installations or the purchase of bicycles, or the question of accelerated depreciation on housing--measures that were also announced during the tax debate. Going along with the fuel discount would give them some leverage. 

The Green party does not want to leave social issues to the LSAP either. "They say that they are more focused on the social aspect, it may be their brand image to say so, but we are a party that comes more from the left than the right, and we want to establish social equity," said Lorsché. She said that the her party is based on two pillars: sustainable development and social equity.

Here again, the party outlined the measures announced during the tax debate--"so that everyone can live with dignity on their salary”. They include an increase in the minimum wage, the introduction a tax credit,  as well as an indexation of the cost-of-living allowance on the evolution of consumer prices. The focus is on single-parent families, which are most affected by poverty.

Polls at half-mast

If the latest polls have not exactly favoured the Greens (only ), Lorsché is not too worried: "We are well aware that we are not the big winners of the polls, but these are not elections. We have often had polls that were not very positive and then, at a certain point, the trends changed.”

Although François Bausch (dei Gréng) has announced that he does not want to be a minister in a future government, the leader believes that the problem of political succession is not specific to the Greens. "Other ministers cannot work until they are 100 years old either, not even who cycles a lot,” she joked about the LSAP foreign affairs minister. The profile of the Déi Gréng parliamentary group is promising in this respect though: the next generation of politicians is young--an average age of 43--and female MPs make up 70% of the group.