Seven months ahead of local council elections across the grand duchy, the municipality of Echternach has been left in something of a political limbo by the defection of councillor Christophe Origer from the CSV to déi Gréng.

At the last local elections in 2017, the CSV and LSAP joined forces to create a majority, led by CSV mayor Yves Wengler. But the results from that election showed very little difference among the four parties represented at the polls, with the CSV claiming 29.75% of the vote and winning three seats on the council, the LSAP on 26.37% and déi Gréng on 23.24% also claimed three seats each, while the DP on 20.64% of the vote won just two seats.

With so little time ahead of the June 2023 elections, current municipal law leaves no room for a motion of censure that would bring about political change in the commune, even though the Greens now have the most councillors with four seats.

Origer, who is also the president of the Mullerthal regional tourism office, the ORT, explained his decision in an official statement from the local déi Gréng party.

Personal and political development

“At the age of 14, I decided to become politically active and became a member of the CSV. Since then, a lot has happened and in the last 15 years I have experienced a personal and political development that led me to the decision to leave the CSV to continue my political engagement with a new party,” Origer wrote.

“I found the greatest agreement with my personal and political convictions with the déi Gréng…I want to be able to continue to work as best as possible for the municipality of Echternach and the region and in this sense want to exercise my current mandate in the municipal council until the municipal election in June 2023.”

Déi Gréng have said that they will sit down with all parties in the council in the coming days to discuss further cooperation until the next elections “in the interest of the city of Echternach and its citizens.”