2021 ended with a bang rather than a whimper after Pierre Gramegna’s bombshell decision to step down from government. Following the resignations of fellow cabinet ministers Dan Kersch and Romain Schneider, had left the DP-LSAP-Déi Gréng coalition requiring yet another reshuffle.

Of the original 17-member cabinet sworn into office by Grand Duke Henri in December 2018, just 12 will still be in office at the start of 2022. Indeed, Paulette Lenert will be the LSAP’s third deputy prime minister to serve alongside premier Xavier Bettel, while the Greens already have their second deputy PM in the form of François Bausch.

What does this mean for the coming year? Well, new blood in government usually takes time to settle in. The new blood in cabinet, Yuriko Backes, Georges Engel and Claude Haagen respectively, will want to bring in their own ideas and maybe even their own trusted chiefs of staff. The civil service machinery may be well-oiled--in most cases--but it is not used to such shake-ups in the middle of a government term.

The new ministers will have to show strength of will if they want to make a mark. Then again, as François Bausch told Delano before the last election; “if things don’t get done, it’s not because the civil service… is to blame, but because the minister didn’t want it to happen or have the courage to try.”

But make a mark they must. The two LSAP ministers will have their work cut out as their party seeks to build on the popularity of Paulette Lenert and the evergreen Jean Asselborn ahead of the elections in 2023.

A bold choice

Meanwhile, Backes seems like a bold choice to replace the seemingly irreplaceable Gramegna. Here was a minister respected the world over for his finance industry acumen and often sought out by specialist media for commentary. But the DP is still also suffering from the plagiarism “scandal” surrounding Xavier Bettel, frustration at lack of information regarding covid cases in schools and the fall-out from the Waringo report into failures in care homes during the first covid wave.

Backes has admitted that she is far from an expert in finance. But she is undoubtedly intelligent and  has bags of diplomatic experience. And her in-depth knowledge of the European Union after her stint as the head of the Commission’s representation in Luxembourg will prove to be valuable. She certainly was a choice that left government critics speechless after the speculation that a former Big 4 chief could take on the finance ministry.

As for the opposition, the CSV continues to do its best Cheshire Cat impressions--all smiles and bearing of teeth without real substance. The new Déi Lénk MPs, Nathalie Oberweis and Myriam Cecchetti, have been very vocal without really reaching a new audience. The ADR, without doing much positive in parliament, has somehow managed to improve its standing in the polls, probably thanks to a rancorous constituency frustrated with the pandemic.

And the Pirate Party, whose star MP Sven Clement has been one of the most effective voices of opposition, is outperforming all comers in the polls. How the still young party will convert that momentum into actual results in 2023 depends a lot on introducing charismatic potential candidates to the public in the coming twelve months.